/ 




MEDICAL 



- :• — 



AND 



TOPOGRAPHICAL OBSERVATIONS 



UPON THE 



MEDITERRANEAN ; 



AND UPON 



PORTUGAL, SPAIN, AND OTHER COUNTRIES. 



by g. r. b. Corner, m.d., u.s.n., 

SURGEON TO THE TJ. S. NATAL ASYLUM, AND HON. MEMBEll OE THE PHILADELPHIA 

MEDICAL SOCIETY. 



| * 



WITH ENGBAVINGS, 




HAS WELL, BARRINGTON, AND HAS WELL, 
293 MARKET STREET. 

1839. 









Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1839, by Ha swell, Bar- 
rington, and Haswell, in the Clerk's office of the District Court for the Eastern 
District of Pennsylvania. 



TO THOMAS HARRIS, M.D, 



U. S. NAVY. 



Sir: 



After maturely reflecting to whom the Dedication of this Work ought 
to be made, I have concluded that no person has a juster claim to it than 
yourself; and the friendship you have so often manifested for me, your 
high professional attainments, and the great estimation in which I hold 
your reputation as a physician, and your character as a citizen, have de- 
termined me to pay you this small tribute of regard and respect. 

I am, respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

G. R. B. HORNER. 

August 1, 1839. 



CONTENTS. 







PAGE 


PREFACE 




9 


GENERAL OBSERVATIONS .... 




11 


Climate of the Mediterranean .... 




13 


Tides and Currents of the Mediterranean . 




17,18 


Diseases incidental to the Crews of Vessels cruising in the Mediter- 




ranean ....... 




20 


Pulmonary Diseases — pleurisy, pneumonia, bron 


chitis, 




asthma, phthisis, &c. 




21 


Treatment . . . . - . 




22 


Hepatitis and icterus, jaundice, ophthalmia, bowel 


affec- 




tions, diarrhoea, dysentery, enteritis, cholera 




23 


Asiatic cholera ..... 




ib. 


Small-pox ..... 




2t> 


Fevers . . .... 




28 


Special observations upon the Mediterranean, and upon Portugal, 




Spain, and other countries .... 




31 


LISBON, 






And the Medical Institutions of Portugal 




33 


Climate ..... 




35 


Diseases ...... 




36 


Public Institutions .... 




3? 


City Library . . . . \ . 




38 


Hospitals ...... 




ib. 


Medical Institutions of Portugal . 




40 


Salaries of Director and Professors . 




42 


Of the Students .... 




ib. 


Schools of Pharmacy .... 




44 


SPAIN 




45 


Seville, and its environs ..... 




47 


Public Institutions .... 




48 


Hospitals ...... 




49 


Climate 




50 



6 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

SPAIN — continued. 

Cadiz, and the country adjacent 

Public Institutions of Cadiz 

Hospiciisde Espositos 

Hospicis de Caridad 

The Female Hospital 

Hospicis de Viridas 

Hospital of St. Juan de Dios 

The Military Hospital and Medico-Chirurgical College 

The Academy of Medicine and Surgery . 

Climate ..... 

Diseases ..... 
GIBRALTAR . 

Climate and Botanical Productions 

Zoology — Birds — Fish 

Town of Gibraltar .... 

Hospitals — Civil and Military 

Diseases ..... 
Algesiras and Malaga .... 

Present Condition of the Profession of Medicine in Spain 
Royal Academies of Medicine and Surgery 

Libraries and Cabinets 

Revenue ..... 
Royal Colleges of Medicine and Surgery 

Of the Professors .... 

Of the Course of Instruction 

Of Exemptions .... 

Of the Students .... 

Of Examinations .... 

Oaths taken, and Modes of conferring Degrees 

Of Surgeon-Bleeders and Mid wives 

Of the Funds of the Colleges and Faculty 

Penalties for Practising without Licences . 
Medical Corps of the Spanish Navy . 
Medical Staff of the Army 

The Medico-Cirujanos 

Duties of the Military Faculty . 

Salaries, Allowances, Rank, &c. . 

Hospitals ..... 
Regulations respecting the Mineral Baths and Springs of Spain 
MINORCA .... 

Climate 

Minerals. — Geology 

Soil 

Botany 
Animal Kingdom 
Birds 






PAGE 

52 

55 

ib. 

ib. 

56 

57 

ib. 

59 

ib. 

61 

62 

63 

65 

66 

67 

68 

71 

72 

73 

74 

80 

ib, 

ib. 

83 

ib. 

86 

87 

88 

90 

92 

93 

94 

97 

ib. 

98 

98 

101 

102 

103 

108 

ib. 

Ill 

113 

ib. 

117 

ib. 



CONTENTS. 



MINORCA — continued. 








PAGE 


Reptiles ... .119 


Fish .... 






ib. 


Zoophytes, or Radiated Animals 






122 


Agriculture 






125 


Diseases .... 






127 


Mahon, and its Vicinity- 






131 


House of Charity 






ib. 


Foundling Hospital 






132 


Naval or Military Hospital 






ib. 


Lazaretto . . 






134 


Regulations of the Lazaretto 






137 


Of the Officers . 






138 


Table of the Charges for Vessels and Merchandis 




139 


,, ,, for Foreign Vessels 




140 


„ ,, for Patents of Health 




ib. 


,, Persons Employed in Lazaretto 




ib 


Quarantine .... 




141 


Purifications 








142 


MARSEILLES AND TOULON 








144 


Marseilles . 








ib. 


Climate 








146 


Toulon 








147 


Hospitals . 








149 


SICILY .... 








151 


Catania 








152 


Public Buildings . 








ib. 


Benedictine Convent 








ib. 


Antiquities 








154 


Mount iEtna 








155 


Syracuse . 








157 


Curiosities 








ib. 


Santa Lucia 








160 


Temperature 








162 


Diseases . 








163 


Vegetable and Mineral Productions 


of the Island in 


general 




164 


Animals . 








165 


GRAHAM'S ISLAND . 








ib. 


MALTA .... 








167 


Inhabitants 








168 


Population 








169 


Climate 








ib. 


Citta Vecchia 








170 


Valetta .... 








171 


Hospitals . 








174 


Military Hospital 


• 


. • 


175 


Naval Hospital 


» 







176 






8 



HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 



CORFU 








178 


Town of Corfu 








179 


Climate . 








180 


ARCHIPELAGO 








182 


Climate . 








183 


Diseases . 








184 


Inhabitants 








ib. 


Antiquities 








184 


Population 








189 


Productions 








190 


SMYRNA, AND THE ADJACENT PARTS 








191 


Climate 








192 


Animals 








195 


Antiquities 








ib. 


Inhabitants 








197 


Hospitals . 








ib. 


Bagnios 








198 


Apothecaries and Physicians 








199 


Diseases . 








200 


PALESTINE .... 








203 


Scenery- 








ib. 


Botany 








204 


State of the Medical Profession 








206 


Apothecaries 








208 


Diseases . 








ib. 


APPENDIX .... 








211 



PREFACE. 



In presenting these Observations to the public, it may be useful 
and proper to state that they were made during two cruises to the 
Mediterranean. The first cruise was performed in the corvette 
John Adams, during the years 1831, 1832, and 1833; the second 
in the frigate United States, during 1836, 1837, and 1838. As 
I have been, then, for so long a time in that classic sea, and 
the countries encompassing it, the reader may think it strange that 
my investigations have not been more extensive, and the information 
acquired is not greater ; but these imperfections, I am sure, will 
be excused, when he is informed, that during the whole period I 
was trammeled with public duties, and had neither my own in- 
clination nor pleasure to consult. It not unfrequently happened, 
that where the largest field fur investigation was offered J had the 
least means of acquiring information ; and, on the contrary, when 
nothing of interest was presented, the greatest facilities were 
possessed. It has often occurred to me, that, when in a region 
where innumerable objects worthy of the fullest attention were 
found, a rain, a storm, a quarantine, or some urgent duty detained 
me aboard, and caused disappointment. The reverse of this has 
happened : the ships were at places where the weather was fair, 
there was no quarantine, and my duties caused no detention nor 
obstacle; but where there was nothing deserving particular atten- 
tion, or where already as much information had been elicited as 
was desired. 

For the above reasons my Observations are diffuse with regard 
to some places ; brief and restricted as to others : on one subject 
minute, on another general. But these remarks are chiefly in rela- 
tion to the countries which I shall sketch, and not to professional 
subjects which came directly under my notice, aboard, and which 
will be treated of more fully ; for, as a matter of course, every op- 
portunity is presented to the surgeon in a ship-of-war of acquiring 
information with respect to any subject connected with his duties, 
and relating to the patients under his charge. Having the exclusive 

2 



]0 PREFACE. 

management of the medical department, he can pursue uninter- 
ruptedly any plan of treatment, without consulting the will of his 
patients, or having to contend with prejudice and fashion ; and he 
is not obliged to adopt modes of treatment better suited for ac- 
quiring popularity, than for ascertaining facts and improving his pro- 
fessional knowledge. 

The plan proposed is, first, to treat of the Mediterranean in a 
general manner, and to speak of the diseases which were most 
common in the two vessels while cruising on its waters; and, 
lastly, to give the topographical and professional observations made 
on some of its principal islands and adjacent countries. 

In undertaking a work which embraces so great a variety of sub- 
jects, I am aware of the difficulties to be overcome, and would be 
deterred from prosecutiug the task, were I not inspired by the 
hope of at least making known some facts deserving the attention 
of the reader, and of communicating information calculated espe- 
cially to interest the members of my profession. Should it prove 
a failure, it is to be hoped that the reader will ascribe it to the impedi- 
ments and difficulties above mentioned rather than to neglect : and 
should any inaccuracy be detected I trust that it will be attributed 
rather to erroneous impressions than to a disregard for what is cor- 
rect, or to a desire of misleading. 

G. R. B. H. 



MEDICAL 

A3.B 

TOPOGRAPHICAL OBSERVATIONS, 

ETC., ETC. 



GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 

The traveller having left behind him the mighty Atlantic and 
entered the Mediterranean, is at once struck with the difference be- 
tween them. He finds himself transferred from a boundless, stormy, 
and agitated ocean, into a smooth and placid sea, encircled by 
many of the most beautiful countries of the world. Scarcely ever 
out of sight of land, he has always something to gratify the sight, 
excite pleasure, and remove the monotony of his voyage. At one 
time a craggy rock raises its head above the surface of the sea, and 
repelling the foaming w T ater from its base, warns the watchful 
mariner to change his course ; at another time a verdant, romantic 
island reminds him of its being the scene of some classic story. 
Here Stromboli disgorges a never failing stream of red hot lava, 
which slowly flows down her sides to be cooled in the hissing sea: 
there majestic JEtna elevates her snow-clad summit, and, obscuring 
the heavens with a dense, dark volume of smoke, shows that the 
Cyclopes still urge their Vulcanian tasks, and that the burning breath 
of Briareus is not as yet extinguished. Proceeding along the coast 
of Africa, he beholds the wild, rugged, undulating mountains of 
Morocco, and other Barbary states ; he passes Ceuta, Algiers, Bona, 
Bizerta, and Utica ; and, while thinking of the stoical and patriotic 
Cato, gets within sight of Carthage. But when he has reached it, 
he looks in vain for the temples, the palaces, the walls and towers 
of the former mistress of Africa, and sees only a miserable village. 
the broken arches of an aqueduct, and the solitary, half dilapidated 
tower in which Saint Louis, the pious king of France, terminated 
his glorious career and existence. 

Having passed the bay of Tunis, doubled Cape Bon, a mountain 
looking at a distance like an island, he crosses the Gulf of Cabes, goes 
by Tripoli and her forest of date trees, decorating the adjacent 
desert of drifting sands, and he soon reaches Egypt. There he beholds 
the modern, rising upon the ruins of the ancient Alexandria ; the 
needles of Cleopatra ; Pompey's Pillar — those splendid remains of 



12 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

antiquity — and the famous Nile, overflowing its banks to fertilize 
the neighbouring plains. After leaving Egypt he proceeds to 
Palestine, views its rich and lovely hills and valleys, the scenes of 
so many events celebrated in both profane and sacred history. There, 
likewise, are beheld with delight the distant sky-blue mountains of 
Carmel, stretching from north to south, beyond the plains of Jaffa; 
and the still more lofty chains of Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, partly 
capped with snow, and hiding their towering heads amid the clouds. 
But suppose that, instead of taking the route along the coast of 
Africa, he chooses that by the coast of Europe, his pleasure will be 
increased rather than diminished. The uninterrupted chains of 
mountains, and intervening valleys, will afford innumerable prospects 
of the most captivating sort; every scene will be varied and impos- 
ing — the eye will never become fatigued, the mind never satiated; 
nor will the imagination cease to be excited ; such is the host of inte- 
resting objects. Works of art are there mingled w T ith those of nature, 
and the superfluities of one supply the deficiences of the other. With 
the wonders of ancient, he sees displayed those of modern times : and 
whether he be an amateur of the antique or the modern he will be un- 
ceasingly receiving instruction, mingled with amusement. Having 
seen the romantic and picturesque coast of Spain ; admired, the lofty, 
jagged, deeply serrated mountains of Grenada ; having passed the 
barren ridges, the luxuriant, thickly populated vales of France, he 
next beholds the snowy summits of the southern Alps, then the more 
humble Appenines; and sailing on, along the coast of Italy, he passes 
Genoa, Leghorn, Rome, the former mistress of the world, and arrives 
in the Bay of Naples. On one side of this latter he witnesses the awful 
effects of the earthquake, which submerged beneath its waters half of 
the city of Baise, and left the other half in ruins ; and, upon the other 
side, he views Vesuvius, emitting from her unextinguishable furnace 
volumes of black, curling smoke during the day, and vivid flames by 
night ; and threatening, once more, to overwhelm with ashes and 
lava the delightful region around. 

From Naples he proceeds along the iron bound mountainous 
coast of Calabria, enters the Straits of Messina ; leaves the monster 
Scylla on the left, the foaming, whirling Charybdis on the right: he 
sails up the sea of Ionia, goes into the Adriatic, visits far-famed 
Venice, looks at the Tyrolese Alps, stretching their icy, dazzling 
white ridges from east to west ; and then comes down along the 
mountainous shores of Dalmatia and Albania to the western coast 
of Greece. Having visited Corfu, Cephalonia, Zante, and other 
Ionian isles, he doubles Cape Saint Angelo, and becomes quickly 
involved among the countless Islands of the Archipelago. 

Whether he be a theologian, historian, or physician, he will find 
himself surrounded by a multitude of the most attractive objects: 
in whatever direction his eyes are turned, they will most certainly 
rest on one which will call to mind some* incident related in 
Scripture, or in mythology ; some fact mentioned in the history of 
medicine, or in that of nations. On yonder isle, he will say to himself, 
were written the revelations ; on this one were worshipped Diana 



CLIMATE OF THE MEDITERRANEAN. 13 

and Apollo ; beneath that rugged promontory the Persian was 
defeated by the Grecian fleet ; in this half deserted town the plague 
destroyed thousands of human beings; or on that gently sloping hill 
once stood the temple of Esculapius. In fine, let the traveller pro- 
ceed in any direction, he will still be instructed, he will still continue 
to be delighted. 

After this desultory introduction, I will now proceed with my 
observations; and the first subject on which I shall touch will be 



THE CLIMATE OF THE MEDITERRANEAN. 

From what has been said of the regions encompassing the Me- 
diterranean, it is evident that its climate is materially modified by 
that of the former, and that it is not, as may be supposed, perfectly 
uniform. Its great extent also causes a considerable variation; for 
from the head of the Gulf of Cabes to that of the Gulf of Venice, 
it comprehends fifteen degrees of latitude, and from its easterly to its 
westerly extremity forty degrees of longitude. Besides its extent, 
its irregularity, occasioned by the vast bays and gulfs opening into 
it, especially those to the north, which have mountains, promontories, 
and peninsulas between them, necessarily exercises a strong influ- 
ence upon, and occasions important differences in the climate. But 
these do not arise so much from the extent of the sea and its sinu- 
osities as from the remarkable features of the surrounding countries, 
and the difference existing between the southern parts of Europe and 
the northern parts of Africa ; particularly that portion to the eastward 
of Cape Bon. The lofty mountains bordering the European re- 
gions being more or less covered with snow and ice, have the air 
about their summits at a very low temperature, which from time to 
time descends to displace the heated air resting at their bases and on 
the surface of the water. This change in the relative position of 
the strata of the atmosphere, must of course cause frequent and 
sometimes very sudden vicissitudes in the temperature ; especially 
from a higher to a lower degree. On the contrary, the vast, arid, 
and burning deserts of Africa, whose sands reflect every sunbeam, 
and absorb every particle of moisture, must occasion, whenever 
the wind blows across them to the sea, corresponding vicissitudes 
from a lower to a higher degree of temperature. 

To show more accurately what this was, I subjoin an ab- 
stract of the register which was kept during the two cruises, 
with the exception of some months spent in cruising in different 
parts of the Atlantic. The variations in the temperature were 
found to be considerable in the same months of the different years, 
and were chiefly owing, as will be seen hereafter, when I treat 
of particular places, to the changes made by the vessels from place 
to place. This temperature, I should state, was taken at noon, 
below deck, and in the shade. 

2* 



14 



HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 



1831. 



1832. 



2833. 



1836. 



1837. 



1838. 





Average. 


Maximum. 


Minimum. 


Medium 


June 


. 78 


84 


68 


76 


July . 


. 81^ 

U1 31 


86 


79 


821 


August 


■ • ™tf 


83 


76 


791 


September 


• • 77ff 


85 


71 


78 - 


October 


. 76 5 7 T 


83 


68 


751 


November 


. 62l°- 


69 


48 


581 


December 


' ' ^Y 


68 


52 


60 


January 


- • «*ft 


66 


56 


61 


February 


. 61& 


66 


54 


60 


March . 


. . 62JL 


68 


51 


59£ 


April » 


. . 63xo 


70 


57 


631 


May . 


'*3l 


77 


70 


731 


June 


. 76- 3 - 

3 


78 


74 


76 


July . . 


. Spent in the Atlantic, save 


three days. 




August 


. 80 ^ 

3 1 


84 


72 


78 


September . 


. 76 - 3 - 

'"30 


84 


66 


75 


October 


• ?3M 


76 


69 


721 


November . 


• 60 !r 


74 


67 


70| 


December 


• 60ff 


71 


54 


62£ 


January 


• • »A 


64 


42 


53 


February 


. 59 


64 


52 


58 


March . 


• 5 m 


62 


40 


51 


April . 


. 63ff 


68 


54 


61 


May . 


' . 69|f 


75 


62 


681 


June 


• 78f| 


86 


78 


82 


July . . 


* 82|f 


85 


78 


81$ 


August 


. 831f 


96 


80 


88 


September . 


'°30 


83 


75 


79 


October 


• /a 3T 


77 


61 


69 


July . 


. 78- 7 - 

' * /u 23 


83 


70 


761 


August 


. 77^- 

''31 


82 


74 


78 


■•* September . 


• 78/ ff 


80 


76 


78 


October 


. 69§f 


76 


47 


62^ 


November 


• 61^- 


74 


47 


601 


December 


. . 62ft 


72 


57 


641 


January 


R412 


66 


37 


511 


February 


• 54f| 


62 


42 


52 


March . 


. . 53If 


65 


42 


531 


April . 


• 60ft 


62 


43 


521 


May . 


• 65ft- 


69 


62 


651 


June } 

July > . 
August ) 


Were spent 
days. 


in the Atlantic 


with the exception of 


September 


• 72& 


76 


67 


711 


October 


• 66ft 


75 


65 


70 


November 


• 59ff 


70 


52 


59 


December 


• • 60ft 


65 


52 


581 


January } 
February > 
March > 


Spent in the Atlantic, wi 


th the exception of se 


teen days 








April . 


KG 2 3 
. J^3o 


64 


52 


58 


May . 


. 64 


72 


50 


61 


June 


71 6 

1 * ' l 3 


79 


70 


741 


July . 


. . 75M 


80 


71 


751 


August 


• 76ft 


83 


73 


78 


September 


. 721f 


81 


67 


79 



CLIMATE OF THE MEDITERRANEAN. 15 

From the above statement, respecting the temperature of the 
climate, it must be manifest to every one that it is not only tem- 
perate but moist ; owing to the constant and great evaporation which, 
from one year's end to another, takes place from the surface of the 
sea by the heat of the incumbent atmosphere. But the humidity is 
displayed in different ways, according to the season of the year; 
for in summer it is imperceptible, in a great measure owing to its 
great diffusion, and it can be detected only by the heavy dews at 
night, by the injury done such substances as are most liable to suffer 
from moisture, or by the use of hygrometers. Rain at this season 
is very uncommon in every part of this sea, and an almost unin- 
terrupted drought continues from the beginning of May until that 
of September. For instance; rain fell but once in the summer of 
1831, not at all in that of 1832, three times in 1833, once in 1836, 
and five times in 1838. 

But in winter completely the reverse happens ; rain then falling 
very often, either in constant or interrupted showers, both during 
the day and night, but particularly in the latter. In the spring 
and autumn it occurs frequently and at intervals, or day after 
day, as in this country. As respects rain, therefore, at those 
seasons, there is nothing peculiar in the climate. 

The most remarkable phenomenon accompanying the rains is the 
want of electricity, or at least of the exhibition of it; for neither during 
showers nor constant rains is it often seen, and thunder and lightning 
are seldom witnessed. Thunder especially is uncommon. This 
indeed, is so very rare that, save at Smyrna and Alexandria, I 
never witnessed what may be properly called a thunder-storm — 
one attended with those terrible peals, and vivid flashes of light- 
ning, which are so often met with in the United States. An- 
other peculiarity respecting electricity is, that it is generally 
evolved in cold and not in warm weather; which is directly the 
reverse of what occurs in this country. In the winter, thunder 
and lightning in every part of the Mediterranean were more 
common than in summer; but these phenomena were oftener 
witnessed, in the northern than in the southern parts, and in the 
most mountainous regions. 

Before concluding the subject of humidity, it may be asked, to 
what should we attribute the dryness of the summer? This is a 
difficult question to answer, it being involved in uncertainty ; but the 
most correct reply I think is, that it is owing, at least in a great 
measure, to the very great elevation of all the countries bordering 
upon the Mediterranean, with the exception of a portion of Africa ; 
and likewise to the great height of most of the islands encircled 
by its waters ; as that of Corsica, Sardinia, Candia, and other 
islands ; particularly those to the eastward. The mountains, 
attracting the mists and clouds formed by the water evaporated, 
and retaining them, prevent their descent or diffusion over the sea, 
and necessarily hinder them from discharp-ins: the water contained 
m them, save about the mountains themselves. To this opinion may 



IQ HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 






be offered the objection, that the winter is as wet as the summer is 
damp, and that if the elevation of the coasts and islands have the 
effects stated during one season they should have similar ones 
during the other. This objection, however, I conceive has not 
much force, and may be easily set aside ; for it is a well established 
fact, and one of common observation in every country, that the 
water which is evaporated during winter, not being combined with 
as much caloric as that evaporated in summer, never rises to so 
great a height in the atmosphere ; and being suspended at a greater 
distance from the mountains it is therefore less under their influence, 
and is less attracted by them. This opinion, concerning the cause 
of the drought of summer, is also strengthened by the well 
known facts, that the greater the elevation of a mountain the more 
obscured in clouds it becomes ; and that rain oftener falls upon 
mountains than upon plains. 

Besides the peculiarities mentioned, there are others belonging 
to the climate : among the latter are the rareness of snow and 
hail, of water spouts, and meteoric appearances. Of these, the 
only ones I have observed were shooting stars. The ignis fatuus, 
and aurora borealis in no part of the sea did I ever witness ; and 
the absence of the former may be ascribed with good reason to the 
height of the adjacent land and the small quantity of marshy 
ground. The mirage is sometimes seen ; and I had once the pleasure 
of beholding about sunset the shadow of a vessel below the horizon 
perfectly depicted on the clouds intervening between her and the 
vessel in which I was sailing. But of all appearances the most 
peculiar are those of the clouds in warm weather, and particularly 
in the afternoon. They then become tinged with every colour 
which most gratifies the sight, and adorn the skies in the mostfantastic 
manner ; red, orange, yellow, blue, and all other colours, being 
mingled with the most exquisite beauty. The skies, also, are made 
still more lovely by the clouds assuming a variety of forms, as 
those of rocks, trees, men, beasts, and other animate and inani- 
mate objects. These beautiful skies, however, are lost in a great 
measure in winter; for they then lose their rich colouring, are 
often obscured, dull, heavy, and diffused ; and become even less 
handsome than those of the Atlantic. 

Winds. — By much the most constant are the northerly, and 
especially the north-west, which blows along the whole of the 
south of Europe, from Gibraltar to Greece, for a much longer 
time than any other wind, and often for many weeks together; 
but it is more violent, and blows longest down the Gulf of Lyons, 
and upon the coast of Spain. This wind is also very constant in 
the Adriatic, and on the western coast of Greece, where it forms 
one of the winds called. Etesian, of which there are two — the north- 
west, and the north-east — the former blowing on the western, and 
the latter on the eastern side of that country. These winds prevail 
in summer, and blow nearly the whole of it, generally for as much 
as forty days without cessation. In Greece they are preceded by 



CLIMATE OF THE MEDITERRANEAN. 17 

the winds called prodramme, or forerunning winds, which have a 
duration often days ; and therefore the Etesian really continue un- 
interrupted for fifty days. With such constancy did the western 
Etesian blow last summer, that it took the United States seven- 
teen days to get from Baireut to Suda in Candia, and twenty days 
to go from the latter place to Minorca. The eastern Etesian varies 
during the winter, and the winds then blow frequently from the 
south-east and south-west. Next to the northerly, the southerly 
winds are most prevalent. The chief varieties of these are the 
south-easterly and south-westerly. At the western part of the Me- 
diterranean, the former are termed Levanters, and are remarkable 
for their dampness, the oppression in respiration which they oc- 
casion, and the mist, clouds, and rain, which accompany them. 

At the eastern part, on the contrary they are called siroccos, 
are distinguished for their great dryness; and are accompanied 
with a clear atmosphere, save that it suspends an impalpable sand, 
which very slightly diminishes its transparency, and tinges the air 
of a very light yellow color. The best presages of this wind are a 
dead calm, and a perfectly smooth sea. The south wind, from 
being attended with the same phenomena, is likewise termed the 
sirocco; and I have known the south-west wind to be so hot and 
dry in the Archipelago, as to be equally as disagreeable as either 
of them. At noon, on the 20th of August 1833 at Milo, while this 
wind was blowing, the thermometer was at ninety-six degrees, and 
in the afternoon, when put in a windsail, exceeded a hundred. Its 
dryness, moreover, was so excessive, that it felt like the blast from 
a heated oven, and had the same effect on leather as exposure to a 
fire. 

Besides these winds, there are others which prevail in particular 
parts ; for instance, at Trieste the borea, or bora, blows at intervals 
with tremendous violence. This wind varies from east to north, 
occurs at different seasons, and lasts usually several days. Its fury 
is so great that the vessels there are frequently made to drag their 
anchors, or slip their cables and put to sea. At the Dardanelles, 
also, the north-east wind blows for a very great part of the year, and 
almost the w r hole summer, to the great injury of commerce by the 
detention of vessels bound up them. By a Greek pilot I was in- 
formed that he had been two months going through them to Con- 
stantinople. Conjoined with the current, which runs at the rate of 
from three to five miles an hour, this wind renders it utterly im- 
possible for a ship of any size to get up the Dardanelles while it 
continues. The injury, however, to commerce, has of late been 
decreased by the introduction of steamers, which now ply up and 
down them regularly from Athens, Smyrna, and other places, and 
enable persons to get to Constantinople from either of those two 
cities in the course of thirty hours; a passage truly short, compared 
with that of a vessel impelled by sails, for which thirty days would 
be an average passage. 

Tides. — In most parts of this sea they are so low as to escape 
observation, rising only a few inches; and when there is any agita- 



18 



HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 



tion of the water it is difficult to distinguish their ebbing or flowing. 
At Gibraltar the spring tide rises five feet between twelve and one 
o'clock ; at the head of the Adriatic from one to four feet ; and at 
Smyrna to the same height. The tide at the head of the Adriatic 
is said to be more perceptible than anywhere else in the Mediter- 
ranean, and with the wind from the south rises from five to six feet. 
At Venice, it is high water, at the full and change, at nine o'clock in 
the morning. The rise in the Adriatic, so much higher than about 
Minorca, and other western parts of the Mediterranean, show that 
the tides of this sea are not at all influenced, save near Gibraltar, 
by those of the Atlantic. 

Currents. — There are a number of them in the Mediterranean, 
but the most important, and those which I shall notice, are the two 
great currents, the one running from the Black Sea through the 
Bosphorus, Sea of Marmora, and Dardanelles into its north-eastern 
part, and the other going in from the Atlantic through the Straits 
of Gibraltar. In addition to what I said of the former, I will only 
remark, that it continues until it becomes broken and diffused among 
the Islands of the Archipelago. The latter has the same rapidity 
as the other, generally running at the rate of from three to five 
miles an hour ; but it is stated, that when the wind has been long 
and strongly blowing from the westward, it has been known to go 
as fast as seven miles. This current, entering through the middle 
of the Straits, dashes along by Cabreta Point, which forms the wes- 
tern side of the entrance to Gibraltar Bay, and sending a side current 
into the bay to perform its circuit, sweeps onward by Europa Point, 
the southern end of the rock of Gibraltar, and keeps on directly up the 
Mediterranean, to be gradually lost along the coast of Spain. 

But, notwithstanding it has been said that this current is running 
constantly and invariably, yet there is the best testimony to prove 
that at times it has been wanting, and that instead of its setting into 
the Mediterranean, another current has been found running from this 
sea into the Atlantic. Several English captains of the navy were wit- 
esses of this fact, and of vessels having been carried by it without the 
Straits. Captain Mailing says he can bear testimony that he saw 
the current running out of them with much greater velocity than 
he ever found it running into the Mediterranean ; and Captain Liv- 
ingston, in 1822, observed the general current to be running west- 
wardly instead of eastwardly, for some hours, completely across the 
Straits, at the same time that vessels w 7 ere drifted from abreast of 
Tarifa, nearly as far out as Cape Spartel. 

That counter currents exist on the borders of the general one is 
a well-known fact, and a matter of common observation ; vessels 
going out of the Straits often taking advantage of them. One counter 
current runs along the coast of Spain, from near Malaga, west- 
ward to Gibraltar, and thence outward to Cape Trafalgar. The 
other one runs along the coast of Africa until it reaches Cape 
Spartel, and is there lost in the Atlantic. 

It is believed and asserted that an under current exists, and runs 



CURRENT OF THE MEDITERRANEAN. 19 

beneath the surface of the upper, in a direction opposite to that 
going in from the Atlantic. The chief facts advanced for proving 
the correctness of this assertion are the following : A ship at 
anchor at Tarifa, found a current running outwards at the rate of 
five and a half miles ; another vessel at anchor under Cape Spartel, 
was obliged, from the existence of a similar current, to have a man 
at the wheel for steering her. In 1820, Captain Barret states, that 
when he was off Tangier Bay he found an under current to be drift- 
ing his vessel westward for three hours, while the usual current 
was going eastward. The Phoenix of Marseilles, in 1712, gave 
chace to a Dutch vessel near Ceuta, and overtaking her in the 
middle of the Straits between Tarifa and Tangier, fired a broad- 
side into and sunk her. A few days afterwards the sunken vessel 
made her appearance on the shore near Tangier, which is four 
leagues to the westward of the place where she went down, and in 
an opposite direction to the course of the general current. Lastly, 
a vessel some years ago was lost at Ceuta, and afterwards thrown 
up on the European shore at Tarifa, which is seventeen miles 
distant. 

These facts certainly tend to prove the existence of an under cur- 
rent, but they are far from being conclusive; for all the circumstances 
stated might have been, and most probably were caused by the counter 
currents first mentioned, or by the western current having ceased 
and the eastern having set outwards. The fact that a vessel was 
drifted to the west while the current was thought to be going to 
the east, may be rationally explained by a familiar observation, 
viz., that whenever a vessel is moving in one direction the water 
appears to be going in another diametrically opposite, and that 
the rapidity of the latter seems to be in a precise ratio to the 
former. It is true, there is a difference between a vessel floating 
down with a current and one impelled by w r ind or steam, 
and that the water will have more the appearance of receding 
from the latter than the former ; but. nevertheless, it will seem to 
recede to a certain degree, and sufficiently to cause deception. 

That vessels anchored or not at Tarifa, Tangier, or any other 
part of the two shores, find a current which sets outwards 
is probable, and indeed proved by many persons ; but such 
may be the case and yet an under current not exist. On the con- 
trary, this serves still further to prove that there is none, and that 
the surplus water of the Mediterranean has other means of making 
its escape. The two sunken vessels having floated outwards is 
the best evidence advanced ; but even this fact may be as well 
accounted for by supposing they were carried out at night by an 
eastern and general current as by saying that it was the effect of an 
under current; and it is strange that persons should thus set aside 
a well known fact in favour of a conclusion deduced from mere 

[supposition. 
No positive proof then is given respecting an under current, and 
no accurate means of ascertaining its existence have been devised, 
though it is possible that this might be done by letting down a 



20 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

body of much greater specific gravity than water, by a line 
attached to a vessel anchored in the middle of the Straits. But 
even this experiment would be attended with great uncertainty, as 
the body let down, though an under current should exist, would, 
when sinking, first be drifted to the eastward by the upper, and 
then to the westward by the under current. Of course the effect of 
the latter would be counteracted by the former, and the body would 
strike the bottom in the very spot where it would have done if no 
current existed, unless the one or the other should be either the 
deepest or strongest. 

As to the explanation given by those who believe in the exist- 
ence of an under current being caused by the water of the 
Mediterranean containing more saline matter than that of the 
Atlantic, I will merely remark that it is as yet theoretical, since no 
decided proof has been given that such is the case. It appears to 
be founded on the supposition, that the western current running in 
from the Atlantic is owing 1o the very great evaporation from the 
Mediterranean, causing its surface to fall below the level of that of 
the ocean. If this evaporation is really so much greater than that 
in the Atlantic, and the rivers emptying into the ocean are so much 
larger in proportion than those emptying into the Sea, the water 
of the latter would certainly be salter and heavier. But, although 
there may be a disproportion between the rivers, a greater pro- 
portionable evaporation in the sea is improbable; certainly so 
in that portion of the ocean embraced within the same latitudes, 
and between the tropics, where the Sun possesses much more 
power, and must necessarily occasion greater evaporation than 
where it has less power. To what, then, ought we attribute the 
current going in from the Atlantic? This is not an easy question to 
answer; but the most correct opinion, I think, is, that it is owing to a 
number of causes, the principal of which are, the disproportion 
between the quantity of water evaporated from the Mediterranean, 
and that discharged into it ; the peculiar form of the entrance to 
the Straits, which somewhat resembles a funnel, and acts as a con- 
ductor — the impulse given to the w 7 aters of the Atlantic near them by 
the Gulf Stream, which sweeps across the ocean to be lost on the 
Coast of Africa ; and the prevalence of westerly winds, which have 
been known when violent and long-continued to almost double the 
usual rapidity of the current. 



DISEASES INCIDENTAL TO THE CREWS OF VESSELS CRUISING IN 

THE MEDITERRANEAN. 

In treating of this subject I shall only speak of the diseases 
which have come under my own observation. The first which will 
engage our attention are those of the pulmonary apparatus. 

From what has been said respecting the climate, it is apparent 
that these are not of rare occurrence, and especially during the 



DISEASES IIS THE MEDITERRANEAN. 21 

winter, when such vicissitudes of weather occur, and so much rain 
falls, that all persons predisposed to them are sure to be more or 
less prejudiced. However, their occurrence depends much on the 
parts where the vessels may be cruising ; a great difference, as 
already stated, existing between the climate of the northern and 
southern portions of the sea, or between that on the coast of Africa 
and that on the coast of Europe. 

The pulmonary diseases met with were of every kind ; viz., 
pleurisy, pneumonia, bronchitis, asthma, phthisis, &c. During the 
last cruise, the number of cases of phthisis was very great, no less 
than eight of the men, and two of the officers having died of it, 
either on board the ship or on shore; save one of the latter, who 
died while returning home in another vessel. This number of deaths 
from phthisis was much disproportioned to that from other complaints, 
and although three of them originated in the United States; never- 
theless, it serves to prove, that, notwithstanding the climate of the 
Mediterranean is celebrated for its mildness, and suitableness to 
consumptive persons, it is not as beneficial to them as is repre- 
sented, and that not only they, but the well, should not think that 
while living in it they are out of danger, and will enjoy an ex- 
emption from this disease. Indeed, the climate, so far from being 
thought adapted to such patients, is believed by some persons to be 
decidedly injurious, and instead of putting a stop to the disease to 
hurry on its progress to a fatal termination.* 

Whether this belief is well founded is not positively proved ; but it is 
certain that, from the dampness of the atmosphere during cold weather, 
there is a strong tendency in scrofulous individuals to glandular en- 
largements, both externally and internally; and we, therefore, may cor- 
rectly infer that patients affected with tubercular consumption must be 
more injured than benefited by the climate. The glands most com- 
monly enlarged are those of the neck and groins, particularly the lat- 
ter, which appear in the shape of buboes, and are apt to be confounded 
with those arising from syphilis. These enlargements are at first 
indolent, then increase quite rapidly, become painful, attain considera- 
ble size, and suppurate or remain enlarged for an indefinite period. 
From syphilitic buboes they may be distinguished by their appear- 
ing mostly during cold and damp weather; arising without the 
persons having them being exposed to the causes of the former 
complaints; by their being unpreceded by chancres; being unat- 
tended, or not followed by ulceration of the fauces; and being often- 
times composed of several glands, forming flattened instead of 
hemispherical tumours. 

One of the most difficult cases to cure was situated in the left 
arm-pit ; it became fistulous, and was under treatment for more than 
three months. 

These enlarged glands are found in persons of all ages, in those 
of weakly and robust forms ; but most usually in persons of 

* See Appendix, A. 
3 



22 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

scrofulous diathesis. In one of the latter, who died of tubercular 
consumption, the glands of the neck were swelled, and three of the 
mesenteric so enlarged as to weigh about, as many ounces. 

Suppuration was the usual termination when emollient applica- 
tions were made, and sometimes this occurred spontaneously 
before the patients were admitted on the sick list, or after the 
glands had been so much reduced in size as to have allowed the 
persons to return to duty. Cases of this kind happened, although 
every means had been taken to discuss the swellings or to cause 
them to suppurate, and were attributed to the persons affected, when 
on duty having a full diet, drinking their allowance of grog, and 
producing irritation in the glands by the active exercise taken whilst 
engaged in their ordinary occupations. 

Treatment. — This varied according to the nature of the cases. 
Inmost of them topical applications, such as leeches, blisters, iodine 
ointment, and especially warm linseed 'poultices, were employed. 
The last named articles generally caused suppuration, and were 
not resorted to, commonly, until the other articles had failed in dis- 
cussing the tumours. The former plan of cure was the most certain 
and quickest ; it being an easy matter, in most cases after suppuration 
had been excited — the abscesses opened, to heal up the parts by 
continuing the poulticing until inflammation had been entirely 
subdued; and then using mild lotions, such as a solution of nitrate 
of silver, sulphate of copper, or sulphate of zinc : now and then it 
was necessary to use the former medicine in its pure state to 
remove fungous or callous edges. Blisters were often effectual ; but 
were objectionable from the pain caused by them, and the skin 
being indurated and much thickened by their repeated application. 
When these and other articles failed in completely removing the 
swellings, soap plaster, and compression by a hard pad fastened on 
by bandages, were found efficacious ; and, in some instances, where 
simple poultices were not able to excite suppuration, camphorated 
ones succeeded perfectly. 

These topical remedies not being as effectual as desired, the 
iodide of potash in solution, cathartics, the Lisbon and other diet 
drinks, sea bathing, and other constitutional remedies, were 
employed. Among the latter, the corrosive sublimate was used 
most efficaciously in the diet drinks. It was given in very minute 
quantities, generally in the proportion of a grain to a quart, so that 
it had only an alterative effect. In like manner the blue pill was 
administered. These methods of treatment, aided by an observance 
of regimen and other adjuvants, were successful, except in a few 
cases : but were not as much so during cold and damp as 
in warm and dry weather. Moreover, in the former, relapses 
were liable to take place, and during the latter, cures were effected 
with much more facility ; the remedies acting with greater efficacy, 
the swellings more quickly subsiding, and the ulcerations healing 
more rapidly. 

The diseases which I shall next notice are hepatitis and icterus. 
Both of these were frequently met with among the seamen, especially 



DISEASES IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 23 

those of the most intemperate habits, and during warm weather. 
Jaundice occurred either alone or in connexion with the other affec- 
tion ; it was sometimes mild, at other times severe, and required 
active treatment, being accompanied with febrile symptoms. One 
case terminated fatally ; the patient having suffered extremely from 
head-ache, followed by delirium and inflammation of the brain. 
This case originated in the Mediterranean, but the patient did not 
die until the vessel had nearly crossed the Atlantic on her return 
home. 

Of the treatment of these complaints I have nothing more to say, 
than that it was such as is every where found to be the most 
efficacious ; consisting chiefly of depletion in its primary, and of 
mercurial medicines, given, for the most part in alterative doses, 
during their secondary stage. 

Ophthalmia was a common affection, but most of the cases 
treated were easy of cure ; none of them being of the purulent 
kind, or such as occur so often in the surrounding countries, 
and especially on the coast of Africa. 

Bowel affections — diarrhasa, dysentery, enteritis, and cholera — 
were numerous. 

The two first diseases were mostly caused by bad water, and 
excess in eating fruits and vegetables after a long abstinence from 
them, and the crews had been living for some time principally on 
salt provisions. Ordinary cholera was often occasioned by the same 
excesses, but it was most apt to happen from eating largely of 
crude, acid fruits during hot weather. Asiatic cholera has, from 
time to time, occurred in our ships of war since its introduc- 
tion into the Mediterranean, which happened at the close of the 
year 1831 ; having gradually worked its way from Russia down 
the western coast of the Black Sea to Constantinople, and thence 
down the sea of Marmora and the Dardanelles to the eastern coast 
of Turkey in Asia. This disease did not become prevalent until 
several years after its first appearance, and has never pervaded the 
w r hole of the islands, nor all of the countries encircling this sea, at 
the same period ; but has gone from island to island, from country 
to country, without observing regularity ; attacking sometimes one 
place, at other times another; skipping over a part one year and 
devastating it the following. Sicily is the last island, Italy the last 
country, in which I have heard of its ravages. In Palermo alone, 
it is said, it destroyed twenty thousand persons. Several of our 
ships of war have had it aboard : the John Adams was the first, 
the Shark the last, vessel in which it occurred. It appeared in the 
former in the summer of 1831, at Constantinople; in the latter at 
Trieste, in that of 1836. As there are some facts connected with 
its occurrence in these vessels which are of importance, from their 
being calculated to throw additional light upon the cause of this 
disease, it may be well to communicate them. 

The John Adams having arrived at Constantinople on the tenth 
of August, anchored in the Sea of Marmora below the seraglio, 



24 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

at a few cables' length from the city. Having been refused per- 
mission to go above the seraglio, and anchor in the Bosphorus at 
the mouth of the harbour, which is on the north side of the city, 
she remained where she was until her departure. As soon as she 
arrived we heard of the cholera being there, but that only a few 
cases were occurring daily. The people were found pursuing their 
ordinary occupations without the least appearance of alarm, and 
therefore none being excited on our part, save in a few individuals, the 
officers began, and kept up, the freest communication : no part of 
the city or its vicinity being left unexplored by them. Of the men. 
only the boatmen and some others were allowed to go ashore. 
From the tenth to the twentieth of August, the wind blew uninter- 
ruptedly from the north-east, the weather was fair, and the ther- 
mometer at noon averaged seventy-six degrees. On the twentieth 
and twenty-first the wind became light ; on the twenty-second it died 
away; a dead calm succeeded; the air was misty, the temperature 
rose to eighty-three degrees, the sun was shorn of its rays and 
assumed a pearly aspect ; every person aboard was complaining of 
languor, and unusual oppression. On the twenty-third, the wind 
arose, the thermometer fell to seventy-eight degrees by noon, and 
to seventy degrees by night, and the weather again became pleasant. 
Before day-break on that day the two first cases of cholera took 
place, terminated in death the following night, and were succeeded 
in quick succession by many other cases, so that the crew being 
filled with them the ship was obliged to hasten away from the in- 
fected place, proceed to the Gulf of Smyrna, land all the sick on 
Long Island, or the greater Dourlack, and remain until the disease 
had run its course. 

After its subsidence, and when time was allowed me to investigate 
its character, by inquiring into its nature, and reflecting on its causes, 
I came to the conclusion that it did not arise from contagion, but 
from some unknown constitution of the atmosphere, rendered more 
noxious and active by the changes in the weather of which I have 
just spoken. My opinion was based on the following facts: 

No person belonging to the vessel was near, or saw any inhabi- 
tant of Constantinople or of its vicinity who was, or to the best of my 
knowledge had been affected with the disease. The officers were 
the first who went ashore, wandering through the streets, the ba- 
zaars, and other places ; they mingled with crowds, formed of every 
class of the people, but chiefly of the lowest; which, as everywhere 
else, had suffered most from the disorder, and they yet were the 
last persons aboard who took it 5 and they were affected in the mildest 
manner. Their servants and the boatmen, who were similarly 
exposed, in like manner escaped with a few exceptions. Again, 
while the ship was at Long Island, the launch, with a crew of 
seventeen men, one of whom died of cholera, was sent frequently 
to Vourla for water, and though they without restraint asso- 
ciated with the people assembled there about the fountain, or 
crowding a grocery shop near it; nevertheless none of these 



DISEASES IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 25 

latter were infected with the disease. Lastly, many persons of 
both sexes, and both young and old, belonging to the adjacent 
country, frequently visited the island on business or to gratify their 
curiosity. Some of them came near, others walked through the 
ancient reservoir where all the sick were placed, and notwithstand- 
ing they were so exposed to infection, none of them contracted the 
disorder, nor communicated it to their friends and neighbours 
when they returned home. 

This opinion, with respect to the primary cause of cholera, has 
been more confirmed by what I have seen of it in this country, but 
particularly by what I learned regarding its occurrence in the 
Shark. Though I was not in that vessel at the time, yet from being 
one of three surgeons appointed by the commander of the squadron 
to inquire into the origin and character of the disease, I became 
possessed of all the important facts relating to these points. They 
were as follows. The vessel having arrived at Trieste, and having 
found the cholera prevailing there, was immediately put in qua- 
rantine. It having been recommended by the surgeon to keep her 
out of the place where quarantined vessels usually anchor, she 
continued where she was, and about a quarter of a mile from the city, 
holding no communication with it whatever. No one belonging to 
the vessel was allowed to go into the place ; and none of its citizens, 
nor other persons, were permitted to come on board of her. When 
she arrived, the wind was blowing from the north-west, across the 
head of the Adriatic, the weather was fair, and the disease was carry- 
ing off in the city five persons a day. Two or three days after her 
arrival the wind shifted to the north-east, and the weather became 
damp and chilly. The day after the change in the weather eighty 
deaths from cholera were reported, and the following day one 
hundred and forty in the city. 

In spite of the precautions taken, the disease, in about a week 
after she arrived, broke out among her crew, and forced her to 
flee from the place down the Adriatic. Seventeen cases occurred, 
and three persons died, and all within eighteen days ; at the 
expiration of which time the disease disappeared, no more cases 
taking place. These are the facts relative to the manner in 
which the disorder appeared aboard this vessel ; and what happened 
afterwards also is further evidence of the non-contagiousness of 
Cholera. Having left the Adriatic she proceeded to the Levant, 
joined the squadron at Jaffa, and communicated with the other 
vessels and with that town, and some, if not all her officers 
went up to Jerusalem. Notwithstanding every opportunity was 
offered for the disease spreading by contagion, yet it neither did so in 
the squadron nor in the country. Other facts might be adduced to 
substantiate the opinion expressed respecting the origin of this 
complaint, but as it was solely my intention to make known such 
of them as have came under my own observation, and it is not my 
wish to engage in an elaborate discussion of the subject in which so 
many arguments of a contrary kind might be advanced, I will here 

3* 



26 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

leave it, and proceed to the consideration of another disease of no less 
importance ; I mean the 

SMALL-POX. 

This curse and scourge of the human family is met with in all 
parts of the Mediterranean, but especially in the eastern extremity, 
where vaccination is either neglected, or is performed imper- 
fectly. It has often broken out in our ships of war, and it occurred 
twice in the United States while on her last cruise. She got it 
aboard the first time at Alexandria, in the fall of 1836, and the 
second time at Smyrna the following winter. In the first instance, 
a case of varioloid, induced by exposure to several persons recently 
affected with small-pox, occasioned one of this disease, which for- 
tunately did not spread farther, from the person having been immedi- 
ately sent out of the ship. In the second instance, the first case was 
one of confluent small-pox, and from that cases of every variety origi- 
nated. The crew thus became infected twice, although, of my own 
accord, and agreeably to an order from the JNavy Department, I had 
most carefully vaccinated the whole of them, with the exception of a 
few who did not require protection, from having had the disease, or 
having genuine scars of vaccination. The matter used was obtained 
from the vaccine institution at New York, was introduced into two 
punctures in the most careful manner, and yet did not cause a 
single genuine pustule on any one, whether he had or had not been 
previously inoculated or vaccinated. 

How then to account for this general failure I was at a loss, and 
did not know to what to ascribe it; whether to the impurity of the 
matter, the imperfection of the operation, or to some peculiarity in 
the constitutions of seamen. 

Of the same want of success in vaccinating I have heard several 
medical officers of the navy complain, and from what I have seen 
and learned from others, one might incline to believe that persons 
who have attained the age of manhood, and especially those 
who are advanced in life, lead hardy lives, and subsist on the 
coarsest food, lose their susceptibility to infection from the vaccine 
virus ; and of course are more difficult to protect from small-pox. 
Should this be the case, it shows the very great importance of vac- 
cination in youth, and particularly of individuals designed for service 
in the navy, who if left unprotected are not only liable to suffer from 
small-pox themselves, but when getting it to contaminate all about 
them who are not protected, and thus cause both individuals and the 
public service to suffer. The proper mode of vaccination, therefore, 
is a subject of deep interest. It concerns the welfare of all mankind, 
but more particularly that of seamen and soldiers, who being col- 
lected together in large numbers, and crowded in such a manner 
that if any contagious disorder attacks one of them it is almost 
sure to spread and infect all who are susceptible.* Certainly, as 
respects our ships of war, instances of this kind have frequently 

# See Appendix, B. 



SMALL-POX. 27 

happened ; and sometimes they have been rendered so totally in- 
efficient by the small-pox getting aboard them, that they have been 
unfited for the service required of them either in time of peace 
or of war. 

The Macedonian, the ship in which I first saw service, was 
in this condition when returning from her cruise on the coast 
of Brazil, in the fall of 1828; and one of our corvettes, some years 
afterwards, I understood, having been despatched from that country 
to the Coast of Africa, was forced from the same cause to put back 
to Rio Janeiro, where the disease had been first received. 

Other such incidents as these might be cited, and they have so 
often come to the knowledge of our government, that orders for the 
vaccination of the crews of our men of war have been repeatedly 
issued ; but thus far it has been of little use, and it appears that to 
render it efficient some better method of performing it must be 
adopted. What this method shall be I leave to some member of 
the profession more able than myself to discover and to recom- 
mend. 

A few cases of other exanthematous complaints occurred, These 
were cases of miliaria, urticaria, and pemphigus; which were 
almost exclusively confined to warm weather. Erysipelas was 
very rare, but with herpes a number of persons were affected, and 
several in an obstinate manner. The worst of these cases, however, 
originated elsewhere, and merely seemed to be aggravated by the 
warmth of the climate; though by far the most severe was one 
in which nearly the whole skin on the back was affected : it was 
much worse during the winter, and was completely cured in the 
summer, — the perspiration at this time evidently having a beneficial 
effect. 

Ulcers, abscesses, phlegmons, and tumours, were common ; but 
not having been marked by any peculiarities they do not de- 
serve to be spoken of at large. The ulcers were generally upon 
the lower extremities, and the consequence of excesses ashore, 
neglected wounds and contusions, and varicose veins. The abscesses 
were in various parts of the body; sometimes in the loins, at other 
times in the perineum or wherever the cellular tissue is most abun- 
dant. The largest, and by much the most difficult one to cure, 
was situated about the left hip, extending from the loins to the 
thigh, and followed a chronic rheumatic affection. 

Paronychia frequently occurred in both ships ; but this, I long 
since observed, is a complaint to which seamen are as much sub- 
ject as seamstresses; and this may be, I think, most properly ascribed 
to the great use they make of their hands, and to keeping the fingers 
constantly irritated by pitch, tar, sewing canvas, hauling ropes., 
and other manual labour. 

Hydrocele, circocele, and hernia, were likewise met with, but not 
often. Of the three the last named was most frequently seen; but 
it did not occur as much from the relaxation produced by long con- 
tinuance in a warm climate as by falls and other accidents. Of 



28 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

hydrocele only two cases occurred ; one in each vessel. Both of 
them were radically cured by simply laying open the sack, dis- 
charging its contents, putting a pledget of lint over the wound, and 
then applying an ordinary dressing. Each case got well within a 
few days under this treatment, and without my doing any thing 
else to excite adhesion within the sack other than applying the lint. 

Neuralgia was a common affection at certain times, and usually 
seemed to be owing to miasmata, it being frequently paroxysmal, 
attended with febrile symptoms, and yielding to tonic remedies. 

In addition to the complaints enumerated, many more of greater 
or less importance are incidental to the crews of vessels sailing 
about the Mediterranean, and among then are rheumatism and 
plague ; but as the first is a disease prevailing every where, and 
the second never came immediately under my notice, and will 
be spoken of when I come to write of the countries in which it 
prevails, I will say nothing more of them at this time, but will 
go on to speak of 

FEVERS. 

These form the most important class of diseases to which per- 
sons cruising in this Sea are subject during warm weather, and par- 
ticularly at the close of summer and the beginning of autumn. The 
fevers with which I had oftenest to contend were intermittents 
and remittents. The former were generally of the tertian type, 
and easily cured ; but their degree of obstinacy depended chiefly 
on their duration ; and on their being old cases renewed by ex- 
posure to cold and dampness ; or on their having been caused 
by malaria in the places visited by the ships. From this difference 
in the causes proceeded that between the cases in the two 
ships. Most of those in the John Adams, having originated prin- 
cipally from malaria, were more severe and more numerous in 
proportion to her crew; whereas, the cases in the United States 
having been chiefly old ones, renewed by exposure to the former 
causes, were comparatively few, and of a mild character, quickly 
yielding to the remedies employed. 

Enlargements, and other affections of the liver and spleen, rarely 
followed the cases in either vessel; and this may be correctly attri- 
buted to the salubrity of the sea air, and the patients not continuing 
long in the atmosphere in which the disorder was contracted. 
Among all the cases only one proved fatal, and that was of a deli- 
cate, over-grown youth, who had had the disease in Minorca, his na- 
tive place, and who having shipped before he had entirely recruited 
from a recent attack, and never having been before on a cruise, 
suffered extremely from sea sickness. Becoming much prostrated 
he sunk into a typhoid state, and had the fever in the most irregular 
form : he was landed and put under the care of a physician at Port 
Mahon, and there died. 

This case was a striking example of the injurious effects of 
sea sickness upon the stomach, and of the perfect torpidity it is 



FEVERS. 29 

capable of causing in the brain. While he was aboard we were 
going from place to place, and he was better or worse accordingly 
as the ship was at sea or in port, and in proportion to the agitation 
occasioned by the wind and water. When in port he became 
better, and seemed in a way to recover; but as soon as he got to sea, 
and the vessel was uneasy, he sank into a typhoid condition, and we 
lost all hopes of his being cured. Like instances of the great injury 
done to the nervous system by the agitation of a vessel at sea 
might be mentioned, but the relation of this case will be a suffi- 
cient warning to persons subject to intermittent fever, and debili- 
tated by it or any other affection, not to expose themselves in- 
cautiously to sea sickness, which is not as deserving of ridicule and 
laughter as is generally thought, nor as beneficial as some believe. 

Remittent fever occurred in both vessels, but most frequently 
in the John Adams, from her being longest at places where its 
causes predominate, that is, in the eastern portion of the Mediter- 
ranean. This fever prevailed mostly in August and September 
1833, while she was cruising in the Archipelago and engaged in 
convoying American vessels on their passage from Smyrna. Of 
the causes of the prevalence of the disease there I shall speak more 
at large when treating of that place. 

Cases also happened in the United States both there and in the 
Levant. In both ships the ordinary symptoms were, severe head- 
ache, pain in the loins, and along the course of the spine ; a hot, dry 
sallow skin; high coloured urine; a thickly furred tongue; injected 
eyes; great sensibility of the epigastrium ; a full, strong, and rapid 
pulse ; intense thirst ; at first costiveness, and, after taking cathartics, 
bilious stools. In the worst cases these symptoms were aggravated % 
there was pain in the right hypochondriurn ; the abdomen was tense, 
hard, tumid, and tender; the pulse extremely frequent ; the urine as 
dark as French brandy ; the eyes were jaundiced ; the tongue at 
first was covered with a yellow, then with a brown fur; the skin 
became of a saffron colour; the stomach rejected food and medi- 
cines ; and sordes collected about the teeth. Before dissolution, 
hiccup, foetid urine, insensibility, &c, occurred. 

From what I remarked in some of the last cases which came 
under treatment, I thought that this disease had a tendency to 
observe critical periods. Certain it is, that in several of them the 
fever went off on the third and fifth day, and in one case it subsided 
completely on the fifth, then came on again as violently as ever, 
and terminated in death on the seventh day. 

Autopsia. — This corresponded with the symptoms. The stomach 
and intestines were found more or less inflamed, the liver engorged 
and changed in structure, and the gall bladder filled with black, 
tenacious bile. Of the intestines, the duodenum was most affected 
— its lining being both much inflamed and thickened. In one per- 
son the liver was blanched and indurated, and had its pori biliarii 
obliterated in a great measure ; the -spleen was double its natural 
size and softened ; the kidneys were enlarged, and changed in 



30 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

structure. But this person having been a hard drinker, I attribute 
these appearances chiefly to that circumstance. Other marks of 
disease indicated by the symptoms were discovered, but the prin- 
cipal were the first mentioned, which clearly proved that the parts 
most affected were the liver and the alimentary canal. 

Treatment. — Slight attacks of this fever readily yielded to mild 
cathartics — of which the sulphate of magnesia was most used in 
combination with tartar emetic — and to diaphoretics. The principal 
of these given were the acetate of ammonia, the nitrous powders, 
and tartar emetic, in solution with water, or united with the former 
medicine. This last combination I much preferred, having found it 
most certain to agree with the stomach, to produce perspiration, 
and diminish the fever. The common dose was a half ounce of the 
acetate of ammonia with one-eighth of a grain of the tartar emetic 
every hour. These medicines were aided by cool acidulated 
drinks, hot pediluvia, and sponging with cold water, which always 
afforded great relief to the patient. In severe cases the treatment 
was much more active ; venesection was freely employed ; leeches 
were applied to the epigastrium, cups to the seats of pain; opiates 
were given to soothe irritability of the stomach, and to procure sleep; 
and calomel in moderate doses, the blue mass, the diaphoretics 
mentioned, and other medicines, were administered. 

Blisters in the last stage, and after the subsidence of the fever, 
were now and then applied. Emetics and tonics were very rarely 
required, and seldom prescribed ; the first, only where the stomach 
was loaded with ingesta and much deranged ; the second, where 
the fever had subsided, the stomach was not irritable, and the 
patient was considerably exhausted. 

The tonic most used was the sulphate of quinine, in solution with 
the elixir of vitriol, gum arabic, and loaf sugar. This was the 
most agreeable and efficacious remedy of the kind — rapidly restoring 
strength, and hastening convalescence. In aid of this, in order to 
clean the tongue, gently evacuate the bowels, and restore the liver 
to the proper performance of its functions, the blue pill, in the 
quantity of five grains, once, twice, or thrice a day, was prescribed, 
and found to be highly beneficial. 

I here terminate what I have to say of the principal fevers 
which occurred in the two vessels. Besides these none worthy of 
notice were met with either in them or in others of the squadron : 
neither scarlet, nor yellow, nor typhous fever, were seen aboard of 
them nor ashore. These fevers may occur, but it must be very seldom ; 
for if they were common some knowledge of their existence would 
have been obtained. The climate of the Mediterranean being tempe- 
rate, never being extremely cold nor hot, at. least for a protracted pe- 
riod, seems incapable of producing either yellow or typhous fever 
aboard ship. The heat is not great enough, nor long enough continued 
to generate the miasmata in vessels which cause the former disease, 
nor is the cold so intense as to produce the latter by prostrating the 
vital powers, causing personal cleanliness to be neglected, ventila- 



THE MEDITERRANEAN, ETC. 31 

tion to be discontinued, the pure air to be excluded, and the 
impure within to become still more charged with the noxious 
vapors pervading every ship, and with the poisonous effluvia 
arising from the bodies of the crew. But the exemption from these 
complaints may be ascribed, in part, to the great attention paid to 
keeping the holds and all other parts of the vessels perfectly clean, 
to thorough ventilation by wind-sails, and by opening the ports and 
hatches, both when the vessels are in port, and likewise when at 
at sea should the weather permit, and finally to purification by the 
free use of the cloride of lime and other disinfecting substances. 

With the preceding account of fevers, I close my notices of 
the diseases which, according to my observation, are incidental 
to vessels of war cruising in the Mediterranean. Many more 
occur aboard them, but those mentioned I believe to be the most 
general. Others might be spoken of, but as they are seen in 
vessels cruising in all parts of the world, had little or nothing 
remarkable in their symptoms or treatment, I will here end what I 
have to communicate regarding the general observations made by 
me in the Mediterranean. 



SPECIAL OBSERVATIONS UPON THE MEDITERRANEAN, AND 
UPON PORTUGAL, SPAIN, AND OTHER COUNTRIES. 

Having finished such general remarks as I had to make con- 
cerning the Mediterranean itself, I will now proceed to communicate 
the information acquired in relation to some of the countries 
adjacent to and bordering upon that sea, and respecting some of its 
numerous islands. 

The first country of which I shall speak is Portugal, which, 
although it does not border upon the Mediterranean, yet from its 
contiguity and general sameness of climate and productions with 
Spain, it may, I think, be treated of in this work without impropriety. 
My remarks, however, will be confined, in a great measure, to 
its capital, and the neighbouring parts, for I was not long enough 
in the country to pursue my investigations respecting it as far as 
was desired, or to warrant my undertaking to treat of its typo- 
graphy in a general manner. Therefore, concerning its climate, 
botany, mineralogy, zoology, &c, I shall say nothing, save, that in 
writing of its capital, of necessity, I cannot avoid touching on some 
of these subjects. 

Though the stranger, when he has reached the coast of Portugal 
is not surprised with magnificent prospects, yet, when he is enter- 
ing the Tagus, and about having the first view of Lisbon, he has many 
objects presented which will excite interest and pleasure. Before 
him is seen the current of the river, contending for mastery with 



32 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

the tide of the ocean, and forming a rampart of foaming surf, 
extending from shore to shore. To the right are the distant 
mountain of Monchique, hiding its summit among the clouds ; and 
the high, precipitous promontory over-looking the bay of St. Ubes, 
on the south ; and the wide extensive beach of white, glittering sand 
on the north ; and to the left are the castle of St. Julian, innumerable 
villas, cottages, and finely cultivated farms spreading over the hills 
and valleys ; and towering above all, the famous convent of 
Signora de la Penna, standing on the highest peak of the mountain, 
called the rock of Lisbon, or Cintra. 

When he has entered the river, and is proceeding towards the 
city, his pleasure will not be diminished ; for the scenery on each 
bank is not less lovely than what he has just beheld. On the right 
bank are a range of lofty, undulating hills, forming, next the river, 
precipices of immense height ; clothed with the richest verdure, 
and crowned with villages, towers, and castles, displaying their ban- 
ners, and with their pointed, well trained cannon warning all 
hostile vessels to keep aloof. Upon the left bank are a range of 
hills similar to those of the other, but not so precipitous, and 
covered with a host of four winged wind-mills, groves of olives — 
and the vast city itself, with its countless churches, convents, pala- 
ces, and other public edifices, extending as far up the river as the 
sight can reach. 

Below the city the river is not over two miles wide at any part, 
but opposite to its eastern extremity it is about four miles, where it 
expands itself suddenly into a vast harbour, but with a corresponding 
loss in its depth — large vessels always anchoring on the northern 
side, and in the channel. 

All the country about Lisbon partakes of the character of that 
forming the banks of the river, being uniformly hilly ; but though 
well tilled, the land is not as productive some miles back of the 
city as near it, the soil being thinner and poorer, and yielding little 
more than long bearded wheat of very low growth ; the best of it 
not exceeding two feet in height. However, it grows quite thickly, 
and having large heads bears a much greater quantity of grain 
than it seems capable of doing on making a superficial examina- 
tion. 

Besides wheat the other products of the soil are rye, barley, 
Indian corn, pulse, oats, and a great many plants — as the common 
aloes, the cactus opuntia, wild poppy, and jessamine ; but none, with 
which I met, possessed decidedly medicinal properties. Olives, 
grapes, oranges, and lemons, are the principal fruits. Of trees the 
most common are the poplar, cork, elm, and chestnut. The first 
named is found chiefly in low grounds, the three last about the 
mountain of Cintra, where they are not only seen ornamenting the 
paths and roads winding around it, but growing spontaneously 
upon its sides. In and around the village of Cintra the chief 
vegetable productions mentioned are found most abundant; for 
there both nature and art have done almost every thing to render 



LISBON, AND THE MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS OF PORTUGAL. 33 

it a delightful abode, either for those who are in the enjoyment of 
health or who are afflicted with disease. In fact, Cintra so far ex- 
ceeds in attractions any other summer retreat in the neighbourhood 
of Lisbon, that it is almost the only one mentioned or frequented ; 
and no other is considered either agreeable, genteel, or fashionable, 
by the nobility, gentry, or commonalty. There, as soon as the 
gaiety of the city is terminated, the wealthy flock to enjoy tran- 
quillity, and to recover their lost health and strength — and there those 
in moderate circumstances resort, from time to time, during hot 
weather to escape the noise, bustle, and heat of the city, and remain 
free of care and labour until business bids them return. 

The mountain of Cintra is several miles in length from east 
to west, and is from twenty-five hundred to three thousand feet 
high. Its loftiest parts are composed of vast rocks and heaps 
of granite, of a dark grey colour, great hardness, and often of a 
cuboidal shape ; being separated by vertical and horizontal fissures, 
after the manner of lava, when it has become cooled and lost its 
fluidity. On the top of the mountain scarcely any other plant is 
seen than a species of large fern, filling up the intervals of the rocks, 
covering every part on which there is the least earth, and even 
growing upon the bark of the cork trees. Their bark, becoming 
very rough and thick by age, moulders a little, and being capable 
of holding such dust and moisture as may fall upon it, affords suf- 
ficient nutriment for the fern to take root and live. The lower 
parts of the mountain are formed of rock and earth, which being 
cultivated in the best manner, screened by the shade of the trees, 
and irrigated by the numerous rills flowing in every direction to 
supply the fountains, aqueducts, and basins distributed around the 
mountain, produces most abundantly. It is thus that so strong a 
contrast exists between the upper and lower parts of the mountain; 
on the former little else than barren rocks, surmounted by the 
convent of Senora de la Penna, and the ruins of a Moorish castle, 
is to be seen, and on the latter are forests of elms, corks, and 
chestnuts ; groves of lemon, orange, and other fruit trees, and 
the most beautiful gardens, as those of the Marquis of Marialva, 
and Pennaverde, where the rose, the honey-suckle, geranium, and 
many other flowers, at all seasons of the year, are found blooming, 
and perfume the air with their sweet odours. 



LTSBON, 
* AND THE MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS OF PORTUGAL. 

This city, the Olisipo, surnamed Felicitas Julia, of the ancients, 
by some is believed to have been founded by Ulysses ; whereas, 
others attribute its origin to the Phoenicians. The last is the more 
probable opinion of the two, for the Phoenicians are well known 

4 



34 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 



to have traded on the western coast of Spain, which then in- 
cluded Portugal. 

Lisbon is situated on the northern bank of the Tagus, in about 
latitude 39° N., and occupies a very large extent of ground, cover- 
ing hills and valleys, and spreading out along the river for full 
three miles. There are two ranges of hills ; one running nearly 
east and west, the other north and south. On the former, the 
principal part of the city is built ; on the latter the citadel, Convent 
of Grace, and other edifices of note. Between these two ranges of 
hills is a hollow, terminating at the river. At its northern end 
is the principal public garden, which is a square laid ofT into 
walks, shaded by a luxuriant growth of trees, affording a cool, 
defightful retreat, and decorated with flowers and a large hand- 
some new marble fountain, composed of two basins, one above 
the other. This fountain is ornamented with statues of sea 
nymphs, and has near it those emblematical of the Tagus and 
Douro, which are two giants holding overflowing urns. At the 
southern end of the hollow is the beautiful square called the Black 
Horse, from its having in it the famous bronze equestrian statue of 
King Joseph ; and between these two squares is that part of the city 
which suffered most from the awful earthquake of 1755 ; and having 
been regularly laid off and rebuilt by the celebrated prime minister 
Pombal, is now by far the most elegant quarter of the city. 

With the exception of this part, Lisbon may be termed both 
irregular and illy laid off, having generally crooked and narrow 
streets without side walks, and often abominably disgusting, 
from the custom of throwing into them filth of every description. 
According to what is stated in accounts of this metropolis, I should 
say, though dirty, that it is not near so much so as formerly ; and, 
indeed, it is thought at this time, comparatively, cleanly. However, 
there is still great room for improvement in this respect. The 
streets being precipitous, and the city so well supplied with water 
by the grand aqueduct of Don John the Fifth, it is not a little surpri- 
sing that they should be kept so uncleanly; and particularly in 
winter, when so much rain falls. It would seem that this city 
never was really well washed and cleansed but once, and that was 
during the earthquake mentioned, when the waters of the Tagus 
rushing back upon it, overwhelmed the lower parts, as far up as the 
public promenade described. 

The population is differently calculated, and is not correctly 
known; but may be safely estimated at 250,000 souls. Emigration 
has been so great that it is doubtful whether the number of 
inhabitants is increasing. The country being small, not very 
fertile, and much disturbed by intestine commotions, many persons 
have left it to seek their fortunes, and enjoy tranquillity, in other 
regions. 

The houses are all of stone, plastered over ; are large, strongly 
built, to prevent damage from earthquakes, and covered with brick 
tile. Few of them have courts, and none terraced roofs. They are 
commonly occupied as stores in the first story, and have the upper 



LISBON, AND THE MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS OF PORTUGAL. 35 

stories inhabited by different families, who make use of the same 
stairs. The nobility and gentry, however, have distinct buildings, 
and many of them possess palaces of great size and considerable 
elegance. Some of the royal palaces, both within and adjacent to 
the city, are magnificent ; and, among them, the new one of Ajuda 
is the most remarkable. There are six of them altogether, including 
those of Ramellon and Cintra. 

As it is not my intention to give a very minute topographical 
account of the place, I will stop here, and speak of matters having 
more of a professional bearing. 

Climate. — This has been long celebrated for consumptive patients, 
and Lisbon is still a rendezvous in the winter for those from Great 
Britain. I have heard the climate much commended for its mild- 
ness ; and true it is, that during February and March of the past 
year, Fahrenheit's thermometer was never below 56°, but it rained 
almost incessantly for eight days in succession, and the atmosphere 
was so exceedingly damp from this and the strong winds which 
blow down the Tagus, and sweep across the land from the ocean, 
that both the city and country appeared to me very unsuitable 
for any one having an affection of the lungs. In summer, the 
temperature is in a ratio to that of winter ; but there is little rain, 
and the heat of the atmosphere is much abated from the strength of 
the sea breeze, which regularly begins in the morning and blows 
until the evening. 

There is also a difference in the temperature of the higher and 
lower parts of the city ; the former, being elevated several hundred 
feet above the level of the water, feel the sea breeze in full force, 
and are much cooler and more pleasant than the latter. For 
invalids, then, a residence must be chosen according to the season 
of the year, and to their complaints. In winter, consumptive 
patients should live near the river and towards Belem, the western 
end of the city, where the streets are wide, the sun has full power, 
and the northerly winds have little force from the elevation of the 
hills immediately back. In summer they may venture to the heights, 
but it is more prudent for them to choose a residence midway 
between the heights and the river, because they would not be, 
then, exposed to the transitions of temperature which take place 
there in the morning and evening. They would avoid the relaxing 
effects caused by heat and moisture, and escape the deleterious 
influence of the mephitic exhalations abounding below, in the level 
and illy- ventilated quarters of the city. When an invalid is affected 
with such complaints as do not require him to shun cold, and is not 
materially influenced by vicissitudes in the temperature of the air, 
he may safely live on any of the heights : but that along the sum- 
mit of which runs the street of Buenos Ayres is to be particularly 
recommended. The fineness of its air, its openness, and the 
charming prospect of the city, and of the river, and of its southern 
shore, make it the most delightful place of residence. During hot 



36 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

weather all persons subject to fevers should especially avoid that 
quarter where the gorge or valley of Alcantara terminates the 
rivulet flowing down which discharges itself into it ; and a very 
extensive muddy flat is left exposed when the river is low and the 
tide ebbs. 

The most prevalent winds here are the westerly and northerly. 
During the rainy period mentioned the former prevailed, and 
appear to be, as regards moisture, what the easterly are in the 
United States. When the latter blow strongly, the snipping lying 
in the river are in great danger, for it is hardly possible for the 
cables and anchors of any vessel to withstand the force of the 
wind and current combined, and particularly when the tide is 
setting out, the current then being so rapid that no boat, however 
well manned, can stem it, and the water running at the rate of 
five miles an hour. Instances have been known of vessels getting 
adrift on such occasions, and being carried to sea in spite of every 
exertion to check their progress ; and although they are anchored 
off the city, and ten miles from the mouth of the river, yet as at 
such times it is of course necessary to cast a greater number of 
anchors, the cables are twisted and entangled in such a manner 
that hours and days are required to undo the knots, and clear 
them. The gordian knot was nothing in comparison with these 
knots, which the sword of no Alexander could loosen. The cables of 
hemp must be cut to pieces, those of iron must have their 
links undone, before they can be unravelled and the vessel again 
properly moored. 

As for the tides, the flood begins to come in at noon, reaches the 
city by one o'clock, flows until six o'clock, and then ebbs from that 
hour until one o'clock in the morning. The greatest height the 
flood tide attains is from eight to nine feet, but both this and the 
ebb tide must be necessarily influenced by the current and the 
wind ; the easterly increasing the ebb, the westerly causing the 
flood tide to rise much higher when they are violent. 

Diseases. — Not having been sufficiently long in Lisbon to acquire 
an extensive and accurate knowledge of its diseases, and those 
with which I met having been chiefly in the hospitals, I will not 
undertake to treat of them, either in a general or special manner, 
and will merely remark that in the hospitals are to be seen 
most of those incidental to temperate climates ; as fevers, inter- 
mittent, remittent, and continued, dysenteries, and hepatic affections; 
and likewise those most common in cold ones, as phthisis pulmo- 
nalis and other complaints of the chest. Of surgical diseases 
there is a great number ; and venereal disorders may be mentioned 
as the most numerous. Concerning the diseases incidental to ships 
I will say still less, as while the United States, the ship in which 
I visited the place, was there, her crew enjoyed excellent health, 
very few persons having been taken under treatment, and these 
for trifling and ordinary complaints, as catarrhs, rheumatisms, and 
other affections produced by cold and dampness. 



LISBON, AND THE MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS OF PORTUGAL. 37 

Public Institutions. — The first of these claiming oar notice is the 
College of Nobles, which was founded by Pombal. It is a large 
and handsome edifice, standing on the heights ; and built of the mar- 
ble of the place — a hard and yellowish white lime stone forming the 
base of the hills, and susceptible of being worked into any shape. 
This institution is well organized, and continues to flourish notwith- 
standing political disturbances, and its name being liable to offend 
the democracy, which is now creeping into power, and daily 
threatens to overturn the monarchy and aristocracy. 

Much might be said of the religious institutions— but not as they 
now exist — the late edict having destroyed almost the whole of 
them, and the Portuguese now showing as strong an inclination to 
irreligion as once they showed to superstition. The only three of 
these institutions worthy of notice are the convents of St. Vincent, 
Belem, and Jesus. These, as all other, convents are entirely emptied 
of monks, friars, and priests, — save as many of the latter as may 
be required for church service, and are all remarkable for their 
great extent if not for the excellence of their architecture. Each 
one has a large church adjoining. At the Convent of St. Vincent, 
in a vault on a level w r ith the lower floors, are preserved the 
remains of nearly all the royal family from King John the Fourth, 
the founder of the house of Braganza, to Don Pedro the Fourth, late 
Emperor of Brazil. With the exception of the first named all are 
deposited in coffins, or trunks, covered with red silk and black 
velvet, and so perfectly preserved, that though they are very 
numerous the bodies are not in the least offensive. From this I 
should suppose they must have been well embalmed. 

The Convent of Belem has been converted into a Cazapia, or 
asylum for all destitute male and female children. They amount 
to one thousand in number, there being two hundred boys and 
eight hundred girls; among whom forty are deaf and dumb, 
The two sexes are in different parts of the house; and have 
distinct schools, both for the acquisition of the common rudiments 
of education, and for the fine arts, drawing, sculpture* &c. In 
a hall between the church and convent are the portraits of all the 
monarchs who have ruled Portugal, from Don Henrique the First 
to the present Queen, Donna Maria the Second ; excepting that of 
her uncle Don Miguel, who is looked upon as an usurper, and is 
not honoured with a place. The church is celebrated for contain- 
ing the remains of St. Sebastian, the unfortunate monarch who lost 
his life when defeated by Muley Molock, Emperor of Morocco, — . 
and whose remains were after many years disinterred and trans- 
ported to Portugal. This church is also remarkable for being a 
good specimen of Gothic architecture. 

In the Convent of Jesus is one of the finest libraries in the king- 
dom. It is contained principally in a grand hall, with an arched 
ceiling ornamented with fresco paintings, and lighted by twelve 
windows, placed between the ceiling and walls. The books 

amount to thirty-three thousand volumes, well bound, generally of 

4* 



38 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

large editions, arranged on from twenty to twenty-five shelves, 
running completely around the hall, and consisting of scientific, 
ecclesiastical, and historical works, by the most noted ancient and 
modern authors. To render it easy to get at the books above, a 
gallery has been made around the hall. This gallery has a stair- 
case at each corner, and a handsome balustrade on each side. 
The hall not being large enough for all the books, which are 
rapidly increasing in number from those daily coming in, many 
have been put in another part of the building, and adjoining the 
museum, which, besides a large collection of arms used by savages, 
contains a most valuable one from the mineral and animal king- 
doms. This musuem is divided into two parts, an upper and 
lower, the former being in the first — the latter in the second story. 
In the upper part are a great variety of shells, birds, and reptiles, 
finely preserved and arranged in separate cabinets, and some 
Mosaic tables of the marbles of Portugal. In the lower part is a 
collection of fish and wild beasts, and a cabinet of human mon- 
sters, the most horrid of which is a child without a head, another 
with flippers like a turtle instead of arms, a third with one head and 
two bodies united as far down as the navels, and having four arms 
and four legs ; and a fourth with two heads and one neck.* These 
monsters all appear to have been delivered at the natural period, 
and are preserved in alcohol. 

City Library. — This is the largest and most valuable in Portugal, 
and promises to be the finest in the world ; for it now contains one 
hundred thousand volumes, and is so greatly increased by the influx 
of books from the suppressed convents, that it has been recently 
removed to the spacious Convent of St. Francisco, where it is 
spread out in its numerous rooms and entries. It is designed to 
contain most of the books brought and coming from all the Con- 
vents of Portugal ; which are said to own a million of volumes. 
Beneath the library is the Academy of Fine Arts, and the Schools 
of Sculpture and Painting, of which there are a number of good 
specimens done by native and foreign artists. 

Hospitals. — Notwithstanding the disturbed state of the country, and 
the frequent changes in its government, the interests of humanity are 
not neglected at the capital. Though this has been of late the seat 
of constant seditions and the focus of revolutions, its hospitals, those 
never failing signs of benevolence and civilization, have remained 
unharmed, and are still the asylums for the infirm and miserable, 
the homes of all the maimed and wounded requiring the assistance 
of public charity. 

The principal hospitals in Lisbon, are the Estrellastar, or Military ; 
and that of Santo Jose, or St. Joseph. The former is situated near the 
beautiful church bearing the same name, in one of the most elevated 
parts of the city; and having a large yard in front, a lot of several 
acres at its back, its site may be considered excellent. This 

* See Plate I, figs. 1, 2. 



rro 



-X 









££ 





JHonslers p7"&s-e7-uc0t est ffte> 7fziw&u77z, of ihe C0ni/e74l 
o/'Jesu^, L7S&&7&. 

lid. 3: 



'M 




Ibisojio-w Mackerel ef&ikralita?-. 



LISBON, AND THE MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS OF PORTUGAL. 39 

building is about two hundred feet square, two stones high, con- 
structed of stone ; is plastered externally and internally, has two courts, 
a high flight of hewn stone steps in front, and handsome marble stairs 
connecting the upper and lower story. In the latter, are the store- 
rooms, wards for prisoners, and the chapel, which contains several 
good fresco and oil paintings, and some fine specimens of gilded 
carvings about its altars. Beneath its floor are the vaults for the 
dead. In the upper story are the wards for the soldiers, the rooms 
for the officers, and other apartments. 

Each ward is capable of accommodating from thirty to forty 
patients, is furnished with iron bedsteads, and has a plank floor, 
which I think is preferable to one of brick or marble, and especially 
in the winter. 

All the apartments were in good order, and supplied with every- 
thing which could essentially contribute to the comfort and conve- 
nience of the sick, who were said to be a hundred and fifty in 
number. Those, who were not too much debilitated, and not 
forbidden to do so, were allowed to take exercise in the yard and 
courts, or in the entries, which, terminating in balconied windows, 
command an extended prospect of the city and country. 

The faculty consisted of one physician and of five surgeons, who 
attended the sick in rotation. In fine, this hospital being strictly 
military was remarkably quiet, clean, and well regulated; and for 
preserving order sentinels were stationed without and within. 

The Hospital of St. Joseph stands towards the eastern end of the 
city, in a closely built, but an elevated quarter. It has before it a 
large yard, well shaded by trees, and a spacious arched gate, 
ornamented on top by two marble statues ; one of which repre- 
sents a person with a surgical, the other a person with a medical 
disease, and holding a tablet, on which is the following inscrip- 
tion : — ." Monumentum hoc ad perpetuam memoriam restaurationis 
Portugal^, in hac die commemorata erectum fuit Anno Domini die 
decima quinta Septembris, MDCCCXI." 

On the western side of the hospital are the ruins of the church 
of St. Joseph, which was thrown down by the earthquake mentioned, 
and being left undisturbed must long continue a sad monument of 
that dreadful calamity. 

The hospital itself forms a hollow square, about the size of the 
largest squares in the city, is three stories high, made of brick 
and stone, has a grand flight of stairs composed of marble, and 
its walls on each side lined with blue porcelain tiles, which 
serve both for ornament, and to prevent the soiling of the walls by 
the crowd of persons constantly going up and down. The main 
entrance, which is at the foot of these stairs, is decorated without 
by statues of seven of the Apostles. Each statue has about it 
some emblem of the death suffered by the Apostle whom it re- 
presents. 

The wards are divided into medical and surgical. The two 
finest of them, in the second and third story, are fifty feet wide, 



40 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

four hundred long, and extend from one end of the building to the 
other. Each of these two wards has its ceiling supported by twenty- 
six arches, resting on fifty-two columns, and is paved with bricks. 
The other wards are similar to the two described, and all in the 
house are plainly, but neatly furnished, and have hydrants supplied 
with water by the grand aqueduct. Food and medicine are served 
out with the utmost care and regularity. The former consists 
chiefly of soup, rice, and fowls, and is prepared in the kitchen, which 
is on a grand scale, and furnished with all the implements required 
in such an extensive establishment. The cooking is mostly done 
in burnished copper caldrons, and every article is served out under 
the supervision of a clerk, who sits with his account books before 
him, and behind a semi-circular table, which extends from one side of 
the room to the other, and separates the cooks from the servants. 

The hospital is attended by four surgeons and five physicians; 
between whom the wards are divided, and each one of them is 
required to visit his patients daily. 

The eastern side of the house is occupied by the Medico-Chirurgi- 
cal School of Lisbon, and contains its lecturing and dissecting- 
rooms and library, which is composed of several thousand volumes 
of medical, surgical, and other scientific works. The dissecting- 
rooms are in the first story, well aired and lighted, and plenti- 
fully furnished with subjects. There are two hundred students, and 
all of them have the privilege of attending the clinical lectures 
given by the surgeons and physicians, and receive theoretical and 
practical instruction at the same time. 

Subjects always numerous, the wards always well filled with 
patients, and the best oral instruction given, the students seem 
to possess every facility desirable for attaining a knowledge of 
their profession. 

The medical government of the hospital belongs to a council 
formed of a vocal, nominated by the corporation of Miseracordia, 
and acting as president ; of a vocal nominated on the part of the hos- 
pital to represent the establishment ; of one physician, and one 
surgeon taken annually from among the professors performing 
clinical service in the hospital; and of the school Director. Their 
secretary is the scribe of the hospital appointed by the council. 
Deliberations are held by order of the president, and the two vocals 
being present, questions are decided by a plurality of votes. This 
council is the arbiter in all disputes relative to service in the hospital. 
The school council has authority in everything relating to clinical 
exercises; has authority to select the patients whom they think 
most proper for the infirmaries, and have their requests concerning 
the economical and domestic management of these attended to by 
the former council. As to the economical government, it is con- 
ducted on a system of mutual compromises, and according to the 
regulations of the hospitals and the Miseracordia. 

Medical Institutions of Portugal.— 'These are now comprehended 
in the Medico-Chirurgical Schools of Lisbon and Oporto, formerly 



LISBON, AND THE MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS OF PORTUGAL. 41 

denominated the School of Surgery; the Medico-Chirurgical Schools 
of the Insular, or ultra marine administration districts ; and the three 
Schools of Pharmacy, in Lisbon, Oporto, and Coimbra. The laws 
enacted by the Queen, Dona Maria, for the government of these 
institutions, were promulgated on the 29th of December 1836, and 
are enforced under sanction of the following decree, made by her, 
and issued by the Secretary of State for Home Affairs. 

Decree (translated). 

" Understanding that the Schools of Surgery in Lisbon and 
Oporto, destined especially to form a class of the Faculty, esteemed 
necessary and important, can be improved, not only with profit to 
public instruction, but with great utility to the Hospitals of both 
cities, I think proper to decree, in continuation of the general plan 
of studies, the part relative to these schools which has been offered 
me by the vice-director of the University encharged with that plan, 
and which has been signed by Manoel da Silva Passos, Secretary of 
State of Affairs in the kingdom. The Secretary of State of Affairs 
in the kingdom may in like manner make this known, and cause 
it to be executed. Palace of Necessidades, the twenty-ninth of 
December, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six. 

"QUEEN. 

" Manoel da Silva Passos." 

Agreeably to the above decree, both the Medico-Chirurgical 
School of Lisbon, and that of Oporto, has a director, who is a member 
of the faculty, appointed by government ; nine professors, called 
Lent Proprietors ; four substitutes ; two demonstrators ; one keeper ; 
one guard ; and a porter. Two of the substitutes are physicians, 
and two surgeons, one of the demonstrators is a physician, and the 
other a surgeon. To these demonstrators are allowed substitutes, 
who assist them, and perform other services directed by the council 
of the school. This council is composed of the director, who 
presides ; of the professors, and their substitutes ; and has the scientific 
and economical inspection of the institution, under supervision of 
the minister of the kingdom, with whom the director corresponds 
immediately. The functions of the council in all things not expressed 
by the decree, are regulated by the statutes of the university con- 
cerning medical congregation, and by the rector. The book of the 
orders and employments of the school, and of the annexed establish- 
ments, are kept by the secretary under the inspection of the di- 
rector, who signs it, and transmits it to the administrator-general 
for its ultimate destination. 

One of these two schools is located, as already stated, in the 
hospital of St. Joseph at Lisbon, and the other in that of St. 
Antonio at Oporto. In each school the courses of study are the 
following : 



42 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

During the first year, the student attends to Anatomy and Chemistry. 

During the second year, to Physiology, Hygiene, Zoology,andBotany. 

During the third year, to the Natural History of Medicines, Materia 
Medica, Pathology, External Therapeutics, and Clinical Sur- 
gery. 

During the fourth year, to Practical and Forensic Surgery, Mid- 
wifery, Diseases of Lying-in-Women and Infants, and Clin- 
ical Surgery. 

During the fifth year, to the History of Medicine, General Pathology, 
Pathology, Internal Therapeutics, Clinical Medicine, Public 
Hygiene, Legal Medicine, and Clinical Surgery. 

These different branches are divided among the nine professors, 
and constitute nine distinct series of studies. One professor super- 
intends the students of the first year, one those of the second, two 
professors those of the third, two those of the fourth, and three the 
students of the fifth year. Four of the professorships are reputed 
medical, and five of them surgical. Pathological anatomy is studied 
together with pathology, and demonstrated whenever suitable cases 
occur in the clinical wards. Two lectures are delivered weekly by 
the professor of clinical medicine, on legal medicine and public 
hygiene, without interruption of his clinical lectures. 

Salaries and Exemptions. — The director receives annually, 
100,000 reis, or 250 crowns, which are equal, according to the 
present value, to 150 dollars. Each of the professors has a yearly 
salary of 700,000 reis, each substitute 400,000 reis, each demon- 
strator 300,000 reis, the keeper 240,000 reis, the porter 200,000 reis, 
and the guard J 00,000 reis. The professors, after ten years of faith- 
ful service, are granted annuities of one half the amount of their 
salaries ; after fifteen years of service they receive two thirds, and 
after twenty years the whole amount. The professors of the old 
schools claiming exemptions for services anterior to November 15, 
1836, have their annuities regulated by the ancient law. No professor 
is entitled to an annuity until ten years of service from that date ; 
and after the lapse of this period all annuities will be regulated 
agreeably to the new law. Vacancies which occur in the profes- 
sorships are filled by the school council, after a public notice of sixty 
days. The appointment of the first body of professors was made 
by government. Candidates are required to produce certificates of 
the degrees conferred on them, and the letters of surgeons, which they 
have received. Substitutes become professors, and demonstrators 
substitutes, according to their seniority. Two substitutes act as se- 
cretary and librarian, and are nominated by government at the re- 
commendation of the director. The keeper is treasurer. He also 
serves as assistant in the anatomical theatre, has charge of the cabi- 
nets, keeps all the machines and instruments in order, and reports 
the faults of the students. Before appointment, he must have been a 
student in the school for at least two years, and he may be appointed 
or dismissed either by the director or the council. 

Of the Students. — Those persons who wish to matriculate for the 



LTSBON, AND THE MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS OF PORTUGAL. 43 

first year, must furnish the director with certificates of their having 
attained the age of 14 years, and gone through certain studies in 
the lyceums. This regulation respecting the lyceums, will not be 
enforced until five years after their establishment ; and anterior to 
that period the ancient qualifications will hold good. The fee of 
matriculation for each year is 9600 reis, or $16 80. For the title 
conferred at the conclusion of the studies of the fourth year the 
same fee is paid, and for the letter received at the expiration of five 
years, and after the examinations, theoretical and practical, they 
pay the sum of $21 60 cents. Should the students attend subsidiary 
studies in other institutions, they pay no other matriculation fee 
than that above mentioned. 

Among the students are included the midwives, who are women, 
and for whose instruction there is in each of the medico-chirurgical 
schools a biennial, gratuitous, theoretical, and practical course of 
studies. Lectures designed especially for their instruction are de- 
livered by the professor of midwifery, who likewise instructs them 
practically in the infirmaries. In the hall of obstetrics, a place is 
expressly provided for their accommodation. Persons desiring to 
be midwives have to matriculate separately, to present certificates 
of knowing how to read and to write, and to undergo at the ex- 
piration of the biennial course a theoretical and practical examina- 
tion on the accidents and diseases which precede, accompany, and 
follow delivery, and on the method of treating them. The professor 
of midwifery, that of surgery, and one of the surgeons in the hospi- 
tal appointed by the school council, form the board of examiners. 
Approval depends on the plurality of votes. If the candidate pass, 
she receives gratuitously a letter of midwifery, signed by the se- 
cretary, approved by the director, and sealed with the seal of the 
school. 

Ultramarine Schools. — In each of the administrative ultramarine 
districts, at its Hospital of Miseracordia, there is a medico-chirur- 
gical school, having two professors ; one of anatomy, physiology, 
surgery, and obstetrics; the other, of pathology, materia medica, 
and therapeutics. The first named professor is the principal sur- 
geon of the hospital, and receives a salary of 750 dollars. He has 
an assistant, who, under his inspection, makes anatomical pre- 
parations, and is demonstrator and chief of the hall of dissection. 
For his services the assistant receives 450 dollars a year. 

The second professor is the principal physician of the hospital. 
He delivers, in addition to lectures on the above branches, a course 
on clinical medicine. His salary is the same as that of the first 
professor. A council, composed of these two professors, the assistant, 
and apothecary, has the inspection and direction of the school. 
The physician is the president, and the apothecary the secretaiy. 
This council examines the candidates, and confers letters of licen- 
tiate, granting permission to practise the profession; but only in 
prescribed places where there are no regular graduates. 

The instruction and examination of pharmaceutists take place in 



44 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

these schools, and the students of pharmacy learn that science in the 
apothecary's shop of the hospital, under the inspection and in- 
struction of the pharmaceutist, who for his trouble gets 90 dol- 
lars a year. 

Midwives are instructed by the professor of surgery in the man- 
ner specified in speaking of the schools of Lisbon and Oporto. 

Schools of Pharmacy. — Annexed to each of the medico-chirurgi- 
cal schools of Portugal is a school of pharmacy, for which the 
Directors, Secretary, and Treasurer, perform the duties required of 
them in their respective offices. There is a third school of phar- 
macy at Coimbra. In each of these three schools there is a the- 
oretical and practical course of instruction; the first of which consists 
of botany, chemistry, pharmacy, and natural history of medicines; 
and the second of the exercise of pharmaceutical operations for the 
space of two years, either in the dispensary of the school, or in 
some other approved and accredited one. 

Chemical and botanical instruction can be obtained either from 
the professors at Lisbon, Oporto, or Coimbra. Lectures on the 
natural history of medicines and pharmacy are delivered by 
the professor of materia medica, in the period of two years, to the 
students of pharmacy; who after being examined in chemistry and 
botany are admitted as a separate class into the hall of materia medica. 
These students, likewise, are obliged before entering the schools to 
go through certain studies in the national lyceums. For matricu- 
lation and letters they pay the same fees as other students, and for 
their practical instruction the pharmaceutists of the schools receive 
the same compensation as those in the ultramarine districts. After 
having gone through the biennial studies these students are also exam- 
ined. In each school for this purpose is a special board, composed 
of the professor of materia medica and pharmacy, of his demon- 
strator or his substitute, and of the apothecary of the pharmaceuti- 
cal dispensary. 

Pharmaceutists who have not attended the theoretical and prac- 
tical courses prescribed, are admitted to examination by this board, 
upon producing certificates, signed by the authorities of the places 
to which they belong, of their being twenty years old, of the studies 
they have gone through, and of their correct habits. Before being ex- 
amined they have also to pay a fee of three dollars and sixty cents, 
and furnish testimony from the pharmaceutists with whom they 
lived of their good behaviour. Moreover, no one is examined who 
has not been practising pharmacy for eight years. To ascertain 
those entitled to examination, all the apothecaries keeping shops 
are obliged to send annually to each one of the three schools of 
pharmacy a register of the persons practising in their shops, with 
their names, and those of their places: the time of commencing 
practical study ; that which they have been studying ; and an ac- 
count of the progress each one has made. On the subjects of botany 
and chemistry they are asked only questions relating strictly to 



SPAIN. 45 

pharmacy, but in the latter science are examined both as to theory 
and practice. 

Finally, letters of pharmacy are conferred on all found qualified. 
No school is allowed to confer one on any person who has not con- 
formed to the rules established, in every respect ; and no pharma- 
ceutist will be permitted four years after the publication of the above 
decree to open a new shop without having been examined and ap- 
proved in the manner specified. 

It must be evident that, under these wholesome laws and the 
patronage of government, the medical institutions of Portugal must 
improve and flourish. Objections may be made against them be- 
cause of their dependence on government. It may be said it would 
be better that they should subsist by their merits exclusively; 
it would be more profitable to the faculty, and more advantageous 
to the public to have them supported by the fees of the students, 
and for the professors, as in our country, to be compensated in a 
ratio to their popularity. I will not discuss any of these points, but 
will terminate this account by observing, that the profession of 
medicine bids fair in Portugal to attain the high rank, public esteem, 
and high respectability possessed in the other civilized countries 
which have properly appreciated its merits. 



SPAIN. 



Of this extensive country — in which are found so many objects 
deserving of attention, and of subjects worthy of inquiry — I shall 
not undertake either a minute or general description ; as I should, 
if I did so, go entirely beyond my prescribed limits, and should 
be obliged to rely rather on information received from others than 
on that collected by myself. For these reasons, after some general 
remarks, I shall proceed to speak merely of those parts with which 
I am best acquainted, and then communicate such information as I 
have been able to gather regarding the profession of medicine in 
this country. 

Spain, as is generally admitted, is naturally one of the most 
charming regions in the world ; and by her climate, soil, rivers, and 
mountains, her animal, vegetable, and mineral productions, is justly 
entitled to the reputation of being one of the finest kingdoms in 
Europe. The climate, however, is not uniform ; a great difference 
existing between that of the northern and southern provinces, and 
between that of the plains, valleys, and mountains, especially those 
of the greatest eminence, as the Sierra Nivada, or snowy moun- 
tains, running through Grenada, — the Sierra Morena, Montserrat, 
and the Pyrennees, some of which are so high that, even in summer, 
their tops are more or less capped with snow and ice. The 
temperature of the air, therefore, about these mountains is very 

5 



46 



HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 



different from that of the low country, and must necessarily subject 
it to great vicissitudes of weather. Nevertheless, these mountains 
serve to moderate the excessive heat of summer, render the climate 
suited for the growth of a much greater number of valuable plants, 
supply an abundance of ice during the hot season, produce exten- 
sive forests of the largest trees, and maintain a race of hardv, 
athletic, active, and courageous men, for the cultivation of the soil, 
or for bearing arms in the defence of their country. Moreover, 
from the mountains proceed many copious streams of the best 
water, and many of the most precious minerals, as coal, sulphur, 
lapis lazuli, asbestos, cobalt, garnet, gypsum, a variety of marbles, 
saltpetre, muriate of soda, turquoise, lead, iron, copper, tin, silver, and 
mercury, which last is one of the richest sources of revenue to the 
kingdom, and forms one of the most valuable articles of exportation. 

Lastly, the mountains may be said to be advantageous from their 
being composed chiefly of limestone, which, mouldering away, is 
swept down by the rains; and being carried into the valleys, render 
them still more rich and productive. In fact, the soil of Spain owes 
its fertility, in great part, to the large quantity of lime it contains, 
and this may be said to be derived chiefly from the mountains. 

With animal and vegetable productions Spain is also bountifully 
supplied. All the domestic animals, as hogs, sheep, asses, mules, 
goats, horses, and cattle she possesses in the greatest abundance; 
and in rabbits, deer, partridges, woodcocks, and other game, she 
is not deficient. Her horses are famous for strength, swiftness, and 
beauty; and her sheep for their immense numbers, and the vast 
quantity of the finest wool, not only for domestic but foreign manu- 
factures. Before the commencement of the late w<ars in Spain she 
is said to have had no less than thirteen millions of the latter ani- 
mals, and from the merino sheep alone to have received annually 
about tw T elve millions of pounds of wool. 

Among her vegetable productions are the chestnut, pine, ash, yew, 
beech, walnut, cork, and many more forest trees; and of fruit 
trees she has the pear, apple, cherry, peach, apricot, olive, 
mulberry, fig, orange, lemon, and pomegranate; she likewise 
produces a great variety of the smaller kinds of plants, which are 
valuable for their nutritive, odoriferous, and medicinal qualities, or for 
their beauty, or for the materials they afford for manufacture. 

Being, then, so bountifully blessed by nature with almost every- 
thing which can make human beings contented and happy, it is 
truly strange that Spain should have been always one of the most 
discontented countries on the globe, and that her inhabitants instead 
of being peaceful and friendly should be so warlike and quarrel- 
some — being eternally engaged in foreign or civil contests. Much 
of their discontent and unhappiness may be ascribed to bad govern- 
ment, but quite as much is owing to natural irascibility ; for their 
temperaments are bilious and nervous, which, of all others, render 
their owners susceptible to the display of this quality of mind. 



SPAIN, 47 



SEVILLE, AND ITS ENVIRONS. 

In no part of Andalusia is the traveller presented with a more 
lovely prospect, a wider field of observation, than near this long- 
renowned city. Pursuing his course up the winding Guadalquiver, 
he beholds on both its southern and northern shore a vast plain 
without an undulation, clothed with a luxuriant crop of grass, and 
having upon it no other objects to interrupt the view than numerous 
herds of cattle, droves of mules and horses, and flocks of sheep; and he 
sees innumerable wild ducks, geese, and turkeys and plovers, cranes, 
and other birds flying from bank to bank, or scattered overthe plains 
and the surface of the river. Looking beyond these plains, he sees 
a chain of rocky mountains running from north to south towards 
the Mediterranean; and between them and the plains, hills and 
ridges clothed with olive trees, laid off into phalanxes with so 
much accuracy that it is impossible to distinguish any difference 
in the distance of any two trees or rows from one another. When 
he has gotten near the city, he finds fields of wheat, orchards of 
pomegranates and orange trees inviting him to partake of their 
luscious burdens, and gardens filled with flowers and plants of 
every kind, offering an exhaustless store of botanical knowledge. 

City. — This is situated chiefly on the souihern side of the river, 
at a bend, and upon a continuation of the plain described. It is 
divided into two principal parts ; the old city, or Seville proper, and 
Triana, which is on the north side of the river, and connected with 
the other part by a bridge of boats. Neither part is more than fifteen 
feet above the river when it is at its usual height, and the two con- 
tain about 100,000 inhabitants, at least four fifths of whom live in 
Seville proper. 

The latter is encircled by a wall somewhat less than five miles 
around, or according to Spanish measure 8750 varas in extent. 
It is stated that these walls were built by Julius Caesar. They 
w r ere repaired by the Moors, and subsequently by the Spaniards; 
are made of brick, pebbles, and mortar, and flanked by low qua- 
drangular towers, having small embrasures, after the Moorish style 
of fortifications. A deep and broad trench encircles these walls, 
and renders the cit}^ still more inaccessible to an enemy. 

There being so large a population in so small a compass, as a 
a matter of necessity the streets are narrow, but the houses are 
not therefore lofty, few being over three stories and many only 
two. The streets are well paved with pebbles, and are in a tolera- 
ble state of cleanliness. Some of them are exceedingly crooked, 
and many of them intersect one another at oblique angles, so that 
they are very intricate, and it is no easy matter for a stranger to 
find his way from one quarter of the city to another. The widest 
street cannot be over thirty feet across, and the average width 
does not exceed fifteen feet. 



48 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

Of the buildings I will observe, that all, save a few public ones, are 
constructed of brick and coated with lime ; their roofs are sharp 
topped, and of brick tile ; their windows grated below and balco- 
nied above ; their floors of brick and porcelain tile ; and all of 
the buildings, both public and private, with few exceptions, have 
patios or courts, paved with brick tiles or marble slabs. Access 
is had to these courts through grated iron gates, and from the 
courts to the apartments above and below. Some of the public 
buildings, as the archbishop's palace, or the Palace of Seville, and 
the cathedral, are made of a soft and yellowish lime stone. In the 
furniture of the private houses, and in the decoration of the public, 
little attention is paid to any thing else than paintings, which even 
in the residences of the lower classes are found completely lining 
the walls of the parlours and frequently those of the chambers. 
The paintings are universally of oil, and are generally executed 
upon canvas. Among them are to be seen many by the first 
Spanish artists. Water is supplied from cisterns, filled by rain 
collected from the roofs, and by an aqueduct which conveys it 
from the high lands to the north-east, several leagues distant. Its 
sources are three springs near the town of Alcala de Guadaira. 

Public Institutions. — The most famous of these is the university, 
which, although Seville has lost nearly all the commerce by which 
she became so opulent, is still one of great importance, there being 
at this time as many as OOOO pupils belonging to it, who are 

engaged in the study of the various branches of literature. 
These pupils are distributed in the city, the university though large 
not being sufficiently extensive to afford any other than apartments 
for the different professors, and for studying. The classes resort 
to the university daily, for recitation, study, and hearing the 
lectures. Having different hours for attendance they are all 
accommodated. As at all other Spanish universities, there is a 
school of medicine, but it is in low repute, being entirely eclipsed 
by the medico-chirurgical schools ; and in truth from what I saw 
it may be said to exist in name alone. To speak candidly, I was 
neither pleased with the building itself nor with the manner of 
conducting its studies ; and some of the students appeared to resort 
there rather for the sake of lounging and amusement than for that 
of receiving instruction. Muffled in their cloaks they were seen 
listlessly sauntering in the courts ; some walking about, others 
collected in groups to converse, while a professor was engaged in 
delivering a lecture within a few paces of them. 

Besides the university, there were once many more places of 
instruction, and especially at the convents ; but these being sup- 
pressed, their schools of course have been likewise. Of the college 
of St. Telmo, which stands without the walls, and upon the river, 
I might speak at large ; but as it has shared the fate of the other 
colleges, all that it is necessary to state is that it is a grand estab- 
lishment, and was instituted exclusively for instruction in nautical 
iciences during the commercial prosperity of Seville* 



SEVILLE, AND ITS ENVIRONS. 49 

I might go on and write a volume about the convents, which were 
full of, but now exhibit few objects of interest save the paintings in 
their churches; but it being foreign from my intention to give more 
than a sketch of things not appertaining to my profession, I will 
merely remark, that formerly there were twenty-nine for monks, 
or retigiosos, and thirty-nine for nuns, or religiosas, and that ten of 
them were colleges. 

Hospitals. — Such was the philanthropy of the citizens of Seville, 
that in 1789 there were forty-nine hospitals of various kinds in the 
city ; and in its history it is stated that their number was so great 
in 1588, that it was found necessary to reduce it, and accordingly 
seventy-six were abolished. At this time there is only one of note, 
that of Sangre, or Cinco Llagas as it was once called, in allusion 
to the five wounds inflicted on our Saviour. This hospital originally 
stood in the city, but is now 7 situated without the walls, between 
their northern face and the river, at the distance of four or five 
hundred yards. It was founded in 1500 by Sefiora Dona Catalina 
de Ribera, and her son Don Fadrique Enriquez de Ribera, Marquis 
of Tarifa, and was designed for the cure of women alone. The 
present building was begun in 1579, and brought to its present state 
in 1617, but it is on so grand a scale that it is not yet completed, 
and it is probable it never will be. This edifice forms a hollow 
square and is nearly six hundred feet in extent on each side. 
It is built of hewn stone, is two stories high, has a tower at each 
corner, a noble court, in the centre of which is a large and hand- 
some church, also constructed of stone. To each story within the 
court is a corridor ; and on its south side is a grand gateway, 
adorned with Doric and Ionic columns, and guarded by a company 
of soldiers. Its floors and roof are constructed of the same 
materials as those of the buildings in the city; it is divided in- 
teriorly into many rooms and wards, of dimensions corresponding 
to the size of the building. Were this completed I suppose it could 
be made to accommodate twelve hundred patients in the best 
manner. 

This institution was, as mentioned, first designed for women, 
afterwards it was used for the benefit of both sexes ; but at this 
time is appropriated to the reception of the sick and w ? ounded of 
the army alone ; and is therefore simply a military hospital. 
Of course its regulations are military and no longer civil ; the 
ecclesiastics who once governed it being entirely excluded from its 
administration. 

In the wards I saw a large number of surgical and medical 
cases, but none of such importance as to merit particular notice: 
the diseases having been of the most common kind. The army 
not having been actively employed, few of the surgical complaints 
were owing to violence, and no gunshot wounds were to be seen. 
The patients appeared to be barely comfortable, the bedding, 
clothing, and other necessaries, not deserving commendation, but 
bearing that aspect of want peculiar to all things dependent on 

5* 



50 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

the finances of the kingdom, and under the control of its govern- 
ment. 

Being so well located, well constructed, and arranged, it is really 
a pity to see this magnificent structure dilapidating for the want 
of a little labour and a trifling expense. Years of toil have been 
spent, and many thousand dollars expended in its erection, and 
nevertheless it is allowed to moulder away when a few days of 
labour, and a small sum of money, would, if not bring it to the state 
of perfection designed at its foundation, at least render it a much 
more fit habitation for those who, in serving their country, have 
the misfortune to loose their health, or to be injured, and deprived 
of the use of some of their members, by the casualties incident to 
their profession. 

Much of interest might be said of other edifices and establish- 
ments. I will however for fear of prolixity pass them over, and only 
remark that the cathedral, the alcazar, the cannon manufactory, and 
that of segars, are, especially the two first, on a grand scale, 
and well calculated to arrest the attention of the traveller. The 
cathedral is one of the largest and most elegant gothic churches 
in Europe ; and contains several of the finest paintings of Murillo; 
the remains of St. Ferdinand, or Ferdinand the Third, who ex- 
pelled the Moors from Seville; and a superb library. The alcazar 
was the palace of the kings and princes of Seville from the time 
of Abdalis, who erected it sixty-seven years before the expulsion 
of the Moors ; and is still the residence of the royal family of 
Spain whenever they visit the city. 

Climate. — The site of Seville— being in a valley through which 
runs a slow meandering river — cannot be called a healthy one. 
Its atmosphere is certainly too hot and humid for a large popu- 
lation pent up within walls, and living in an illy-ventilated place, 
where it is exceedingly difficult for the wind to penetrate, not 
only on account of its walls, but also of its houses being so 
crowded together. Seville indeed has the reputation of being 
the most sultry city in the country, and its inhabitants manifest 
their sensations if not their opinions on the subject, by the ex- 
tensive public walks or alamedas which they have made within 
and without the walls, and have beautified at much expense. 
There not being space sufficient within the walls for more than 
the old alameda, made in 1574, the alamedas, termed from 
their beauty and delightfulness the delicias, were formed. These 
extend along the river, between it and the walls, from the bridge of 
Triana to the distance of a half mile below the city. The old 
alameda is on the northern side of the city, and is an oblong 
square, planted with rows of elms of huge size; furnished with 
seats of brick on the sides, and adorned in the middle by fountains : 
at its eastern end are two granite columns of the Corinthian 
order, with marble capitals and pedestals. Resting upon the 
capitals are two lions, sustaining the arms of Spain ; and upon 



SEVILLE, AND ITS ENVIRONS. 51 

the pedestals are inscriptions, signifying that the people of Seville 
in 1283, having manifested great loyalty and affection to AlonzoX, 
then at war with the partizans of Don Sancho, the former granted 
them singular privileges, and had honoured Seville with the seal 
and motto of Madexa, which are the Latin word Nodo, with 
a figure of eight, knot in the middle; as thus, NO:8:DO; thereby 
to represent the indissoluble loyalty of the city to its sove- 
reigns. This motto, from the time it was conferred, has been 
inscribed in this manner upon the Sevillian coat-of-arms, and is 
found both on these columns and upon other public monuments. — 
At the western end of the alameda are two other columns of simi- 
lar structure and materials, of about fifty feet in height, and having 
two gigantic statues on top ; one of Hercules the founder, the 
other of Julius Caesar the amplifier, of Seville. To form an estimate 
of the excessive humidity of the air, one need only look at these 
columns and statues ; for from their natural colour they have 
become almost green owing to the great quantity of moss covering 
them. This alameda is now neglected, being little resorted to by 
the citizens; and its elms, its seats, fountains, and columns, have a 
like appearance of great age and want of attention. 

The delicias, now called those of Christina, in honour of the 
Queen Mother of Spain, are the favourite resorts for, and the 
fashionable promenades of, the Sevillians. Neither nature nor 
art could do much more to render them deserving of the name 
they bear, and suit them better for either the sick or for the w r ell. 
Like the old alameda they have rows of elms, benches, and foun- 
tains ; but besides these there are hedges, beds of flowers, private 
walks, and a large and beautiful garden near the College of St. 
Telmo, which is surrounded by a handsome paling, and has in the 
centre a platform of white marble, of a circular shape, of several 
hundred feet in circumference, and having seats around its borders, 
on which those promenading may repose, enjoy the refreshing 
breezes blowing upon the river, shield themselves from the scorch- 
ing rays of the sun beneath the branches of the overshadowing 
trees, and inhale the sweet odour of the plants and flowers in the 
garden. For this most charming retreat, and other improvements 
in the delicias, the city is indebted to Aljola, its governor during 
the reign of Ferdinand the Seventh, and who is said to have had 
only one redeeming quality — a spirit for public improvement — being 
most heartily despised in every other respect by the Sevillians. 

This city, then, having great attractions without, if not within it, 
may be very properly recommended to invalids who desire to avoid 
a frigid climate, and spend the winter in one which is mild and some- 
what humid, and not subject to great or sudden transitions from 
heat to cold. It, however, must be forbidden to those afflicted 
with neuralgia and intermittents, for although there are no 
marshes, the richness of vegetation, the heat and moisture of the 
air, the levelness of the country, favour the generation of mias- 
mata. 



52 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 



CADIZ, AND THE COUNTRY ADJACENT. 

There is no city I have visited abroad whose prepossessing 
exterior corresponded so much with its interior, and the first 
impressions from which caused less disappointment. In approach- 
ing it from the ocean, it seems to be a hill of snow-white marble, 
rising from its bosom, and sculptured into a city. When one 
is near it, the darkness of some objects within, and its sea-beat 
walls, in a measure, diminish its beauty ; but its regularity, its high 
terraced, tower-topped, and white-washed houses ; its domes and 
steeples, its castles and fortifications armed with cannon, always 
in readiness to repel an enemy or to salute a friend, still make it 
enchanting to the sight. 

This city, the Gades of the Romans, stands upon the extremity of 
a long narrow peninsula, projecting on the north-west into the ocean 
from the island of Leon. This peninsula is not more than fifty feet 
above the level of the sea, and for the most part is much less, not 
being half that high where it unites with the island, and about the 
margin of the water. Its most elevated portion is that occupied by 
the city, with a foundation of limestone rock ; but the other 
is a mere sand bank, thrown up in the lapse of ages. The city 
is situated between the ocean and its harbour, which is a bay six 
miles across and ten in length, formed between the island and main 
land. At its entrance are some rocks, running out from the point ol 
the peninsula, and forming a natural breakwater. But for these 
rocks the shipping would be much less secure, and the harbour 
nothing more than an open roadstead. In fact, it is not much 
more than this to men-of-war of large size, which are, from 
the shallowness of the water, obliged to anchor towards its 
middle, and cannot get under the lee of the city when the wind 
blows from the north-west. When this happens, the sea comes 
rolling in with such violence that few cables are capable of 
withstanding it ; as proved last winter by the United States 
having had two broken, and being driven upon a shoal. Shortly 
after this accident, a similar one occurred to the French ship- 
of-the-line, the SufFrein, which was made a wreck, was deserted 
by her crew, and was not gotten afloat until assistance had 
been sent from France, and prodigious power exerted by the use 
of steamboats. During the same season a brig got adrift, floated 
outside the harbour between the rocks, was driven to sea, and 
wrecked on the coast near Trafalgar : and a felucca, which had 
entered the harbour and was beating up to the anchorage, had her 
sails split to pieces ; and having been driven ashore opposite the 
city went to pieces, all her crew miserably perishing in the surf. 

Cadiz is completely encompassed by fortifications of hewn lime- 
stone, varying in height and thickness according to the parts to be 
defended. On the south-west side, towards the ocean, they are only 
a few feet high, and of proportionate breadth; on the north-east 



CADIZ, AND THE COUNTRY ADJACENT. 53 

side, and at the point, they are commonly about thirty feet above 
the water, and from thirty to forty feet in thickness at top, having 
magazines below and terraces above, answering both for batteries 
and promenades. On the sides of these walls, next the town, are 
benches for the convenience of the soldiers and citizens, and in 
the side next the water are the embrasures. The fortifications to 
the south-east, and looking towards the island, are constructed like 
those just described, but they are treble, and have three immense 
moats between them, over which draw-bridges, coated with iron, 
are placed to afford egress and ingress to those going from or into 
the city. The circumference of these fortifications within, is about 
three miles ; an avenue, or street, going around between them and 
the houses. The city, of course, is not quite so extensive, and is 
confined to a still more limited space. The streets are, on an average, 
not above fifteen feet across, are well paved with pebbles and stone 
flags; and considering that, from the want of water, they are never 
washed save by rain, they are tolerably clean. With some exceptions 
they are straight, and intersect one another at right angles. Of the 
houses I will only observe, that they are large, well built, flat- 
roofed, made of stone, and have square towers on top, and courts 
or patios in the centre. The windows of the first story are 
grated with iron bars; those of the other stories have covered 
balconies, painted of different colours, and forming very handsome 
ornaments to the houses. The interior arrangements are much the 
same as those of the houses in Seville, and to describe them would 
be mere repetition. Water is furnished them from cisterns, 
which are filled by the rain collected on the roofs, and conveyed 
down by pipes. There is likewise a vast deal of water obtained 
from the fountain at Port Saint Mary, on the opposite side of the 
bay. This water is brought over in casks, by large boats with 
lattine sails. A very great number of these boats is employed in 
this business ; and they are incessantly sailing across the harbour from 
morning to night, unless the weather is too boisterous, and the surf 
at the mouth of the Gaudaletta too high, for them to attempt cross- 
ing the bar which stretches across its mouth. 

To compensate for the narrowness of the streets there are 
several public squares, of which by much the finest is that of 
Saint Antonio. It is in the heart of the city, of large size, paved 
with hewn stone, and surrounded by rows of handsome trees, 
beneath which are seats, whereon, during the evening, hundreds of 
ladies and gentlemen are seen resting themselves, and partaking 
of refreshments from the adjacent refectories. 

There are also two alamedas, one on the harbour near the point, 
and between the walls and the houses, another without the walls, 
between the city and the island. The latter is new, and much the 
most extensive, being nearly a mile long; but the former is the 
handsomest, the trees being grown, and affording a good shade, 
and there being about it a number of columns and other ornaments. 
The people of Cadiz, therefore, having so many places for pro- 



54 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

menading, the squares, walks, and fortifications, make great use of 
them in hot weather, and enjoy to the best advantage the pure 
air and refreshing breezes for ever passing over their city from the 
ocean, or from the land. 

The alameda outside the walls, when its trees grow up, will exceed 
the other in beauty,and is already a delightful walk, having gardens on 
each side, and one near the walls and next the harbour, which was 
made by the late governor, Don Philip Fleures, and is very taste- 
fully laid off. In it are many lovely walks and beds of flowers, 
bordered by box tree hedges, elegantly trimmed. 

At the termination of this alameda towards the island, are the fine 
church of St. Jose on the side next the harbour, and the ceme- 
tery on that next the sea. Here the most, if not all those who 
die in Cadiz are buried; the churches, which once were the only 
places for interment, having their vaults closed. This cemetery is 
on a grand scale, and so entirely different from any one in the 
United States, that a description may not be amiss. It consists of five 
lots of from half an acre to an acre, enclosed by stone walls eight or 
ten feet thick, and from twelve to fifteen feet high, and communi- 
cating with each other by gates. In these walls are horizontal 
cells just large enough for the coffins of adults, arranged in five 
rows, one above the other, and divided into sections of thirty-five 
each, by pilasters extending vertically up the wail. Each cell is 
closed by a marble or other slab, on whioh is written tho inscrip- 
tion, after the fashion of Spain; as, aqui yace Don Pedro Lorenzo 
del Quisida, natural de Cadiz, de edad de 60 ailos. Fallecio el dia de 
E nero de 1814. "Here lies Don Pedro Lorenzo of Quisida, a 
native of Cadiz, aged sixty years. He died on the eleventh of 
January, 1814." 

In the first lot or court entered, it being the first made, are a 
grove of wide-spreading locusts, which perfume the air with their 
delightfully odoriferous flowers, and, while they are shading the 
habitations of the dead, furnish a charming place of solitude to the 
living, where they may either indulge in meditation, or give vent to 
their grief, and mourn for their deceased friends and relatives, 
whose remains surround them. 

Before burial, the dead are carried into the church for the per- 
formance of the funeral rites practised by catholics. No cere- 
mony is performed at the act of interment, at least I saw none at a 
funeral which I attended ; but the coffin, one covered with black 
cloth, with a lock and hinges to its lid, and wider at the head than 
at any other part, was pushed into a cell of the ground tier, 
sprinkled with a little earth, and closed up without a w T ord being 
said. This was a displeasing sight — the funeral wanting altogether 
that solemnity witnessed in this country ; and if the coffin had been 
hidden no one unaware of his being in a cemetery would have sup- 
posed an interment was taking place. Indeed, the manner of putting 
the coffin into the cell may remind a person of that of a baker 
shoving bread into the oven, it being done apparently with the same 
want of feeling, and with as little solemnity and veneration. 



PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF CADIZ. 55 

With this mode of interment, however, I was much pleased ; it 
is much less troublesome and expensive than that in graves. A 
very large number of bodies can be deposited in a small space, and 
the cell being perfectly sealed, the cemetery entirelybeyond the 
limits of the city, the health of the inhabitants cannot be injured by 
the noxious effluvia formed during the putrefactive process. More- 
over, in case of its being necessary to remove the cemetery, the 
bodies can be extracted without difficulty, without exposure of the 
deceased, and that confusion of bones occurring when the dead are 
removed from an ordinary burying ground. The only serious 
objection to be made to this cemetery is, that Cadiz being a forti- 
fied town, one of much importance in war, is liable to be besieged ; 
and should it be, the enemy must necessarily make their attack by 
the neck of land mentioned, and upon which the cemetery is 
located. In this case, the assaulters might respect it and leave it 
unharmed, but the defenders could not fire a shot, nor throw a 
shell without danger of violating the sacred depository, knocking 
down the walls, exposing the remains of their deceased relatives, 
and causing a sight too shocking for humanity to witness. 

Public Institutions. — Being most advantageously located for com- 
merce, deriving from it an inexhaustible store of wealth, Cadiz 
has long^ been a city of pleasure ; but nevertheless, has not been 
unmindful of what is due to philanthropy. Her opulent citizens, 
amid their pleasures have not forgotten nor neglected the infirm 
and miserable, nor the desolate and unprotected. Neither the aged 
and helpless widow, nor the young and starving orphan, has been 
allowed by them to suffer, and cry in vain for assistance. 

The first institution which I shall notice is the Foundling Hospital, 
or Hospiciis de Espositos. It is situated in a central part of the city 
near the harbour, and is a large stone building, constructed after 
the plan of the private houses. This hospital is under the superin- 
tendence of five sisters of charity, who are remarkable for their 
gentility, kindness, and neatness, not only as respects themselves 
but all things belonging to the establishment. 

The foundlings are generally left at the door or in the court, and 
having been taken in charge are deposited in the wards, where 
they are laid in cradles, which are bedsteads in miniature, and 
furnished with curtains of white gauze. As many of the infants 
as can be accommodated are retained in the house, all the others are 
given out to nurses, and when they reach five years of age are sent 
to the House of Charity, to remain until old enough to be bound out 
or otherwise disposed of by the managers. There were fifty 
foundlings in the hospital, and six hundred and fifty in the House of 
Charity and in charge of nurses. 

The next institution of which I shall make mention is the Hospi- 
cis de Caridad, or House of Charity. It is a palace in size and ele- 
gance, and decidedly one of the handsomest buildings in Cadiz. It 
has a front of about three hundred feet, is four stories high, flat 
roofed, built of stone, and adorned in front by rows of pilasters, 



56 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

of which there is one row to every story ; and it has three entrances, 
one at each end and one in the middle. The latter leads into the 
court, and is decorated by two columns and a handsome balcony 
of marble, which rests on their capitals, and belongs to a window 
above. 

Before this entrance is a monument, on the top of which is a 
statue of the Virgin Mary, holding a rosary in one hand. This 
monument is a twisted column of marble, finely sculptured, about 
twenty-five feet high, and having on its base an inscription which 
expresses the gratitude of the citizens of Cadiz for the singular 
exemption they enjoyed, through the protection of the Virgin, from 
the dreadful earthquake of 1755 ; and states that the monument was 
erected by them in 1761, to commemorate their remarkable escape 
from that sad catastrophe. 

The interior of this edifice corresponds in beauty with its exterior. 
It has a court nearly a hundred feet square, paved with tesselated 
marble, and surrounded by a portico consisting of sixteen marble 
columns. Beneath the court are the cisterns, which are filled with 
rain water caught upon the terrace. 

In the first story are the chapel, workshops, kitchen, and offices 
for the clerks and managers. The kitchen is worthy of notice from 
its having a round chimney in the centre, with an expanded base, 
which contains five distinct fire places. In the offices are many 
portraits of eminent divines, and other persons. The upper stories 
are divided into chambers, school-rooms, banqueting halls, and 
other apartments, and have entries between them and the court. 
The apartments are paved with bricks, the entries with these on 
the sides, and tesselated marble in the middle. 

To conclude ; this edifice was admirably arranged, and exhibited 
in every part the greatest cleanliness. At the back of it is the hos- 
pital, which is capable of accommodating a hundred or more patients, 
but it contained only about the half of that number, who consisted 
of men, women, and children, affected with various diseases. To 
the east of the hospital are two, extensive, one-story buildings, also 
belonging to the House of Charity, and like it having a court in the 
middle. In one of those buildings were the maniacs, who were 
fifty in number, and in the other the married superannuated pau- 
pers, who had distinct rooms, and lived apparentlv in great com- 
fort. 

In the whole establishment there were twelve hundred persons, 
of whom about five hundred were children of from five to seven 
years of age. The boys were instructed by men, the girls by 
women. Finally, this institution is supported at the expense of the 
city, and has one surgeon and one physician, each of whom receives 
an annual compensation for his services. 

Not far from the House of Charity is the Female Hospital. It is 
an extensive building with two courts, a small and large one : it is 
capable of containing several hundred patients, and was arranged in 
the best manner. The patients were about eighty in number, 



PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF CADIZ. 57 

classified according to their complaints ; and in every respect 
seemed as comfortable as their condition would permit — their beds, 
clothes, and wards being neat and in good order. One of the wards 
was ornamented with two oil paintings ; one of our Saviour, the 
other of Charity. Both were well executed. The principal ward 
had its ceiling supported in the middle by eight columns of red 
marble, and at one end had a small chapel, containing an image of 
the guardian saint. The faculty consists of two surgeons and two 
physicians, each of whom receives a fixed salary. This institution 
is likewise maintained by the city. 

The next institution claiming attention is the Hospicio de Viudas, 
or Widow's Asylum ; which is also a large building, and constructed 
on a similar plan to preceding one, but differs from it in having only 
one court, and being divided into rooms of ordinary size, instead 
of into wards. These rooms open into corridors between them 
and the court. The upper corridor has its walls decorated by 
numerous oil paintings, some of which are good, and said to have 
been done by Murillo, though this I think extremely doubtful, as 
they are not equal to those of his which I have seen elsewhere. 
Among these paintings, are one representing St. Peter's denial of 
Christ ; a second, Christ bearing the cross amid his executioners ; 
and a third, Christ raising Lazarus from the dead. There was like- 
wise a portrait of Fragela, the benevolent founder of the institution, 
who died in the year 1756. 

As for the rooms, they were all occupied, but none of them were 
crowded : not more than two or three persons being in any one of 
them. Indeed, the whole establishment bore the aspect of its inmates 
being in the enjoyment of real comfort ; and its quietness, order, 
neatness, and the flowers displaying their brilliant colours in the 
court, gave it the appearance of being the residence of some opulent 
citizen. 

Hospital of St. Juan de Dios. — This building was originally a 
convent inhabited by friars of the order of Saint John. It was 
founded in 1538, but was not appropriated to its present purpose 
until two centuries afterwards. It is situated near the harbour and 
in the centre of the city, at the corner of one of the cross-streets 
and Constitution square: it presents a front of two hundred and 
forty feet on the former, running back about two hundred feet, and 
has its church and a part of the city-hall interposed between it 
and the square. The church is constructed in good taste, and con- 
tains some handsome gilded carvings and marble sculpture. 

The hospital itself is constructed of hewn stone, and in the usual 
style of Spanish buildings; having a court, balconied and grated 
windows, a grand entrance into the court, and stairs leading from 
it into the upper stories. The court, like that of the House of Charity, 
is surrounded by a portico of marble columns ; is paved with tesse- 
lated marble; and has its cisterns beneath. There are two mouths 
to the cisterns, and each one consists of a huge hexangular block 

6 



53 



HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 



of marble, bored in the middle, and capped by a massive bronze 
cover. 

The internal arrangements are much the same as those of hos- 
pitals generally ; and I need merely remark, that the wards con- 
sist of two large and a number of small ones, are paved with marble, 
and have their walls lined for about a third of their height from the 
floor with blue porcelain, on which are indelibly written the numbers 
of the beds. Over the head of some of these are fixed in the walls 
the names of the donors, and the years in which they were pre- 
sented. 

At one end of the principal ward is a handsome altar ; and in the 
middle, on one side, is a large glass case resting on the top of a clock, 
and containing the skeleton of Bias Duran, who departed this life 
aged eighteen years, in 1738, and is said to have been the first 
person who died in the house after it became a hospital. This is 
quite a good plan for consigning his name to futurity, but his 
skeleton cannot be an agreeable companion for the patients, who 
would prefer, perhaps, some less hideous object to gaze at; for 
Bias holds an hour-glass in one hand, and grinning most horribly 
upon them, warns them how quickly time passes, and bids them to 
prepare for death. 

This hospital contains both medical and surgical cases ; and all 
the patients are males. They were one hundred and ten in num- 
ber, but the house can hold many more. It has a surgeon and two 
physicians; one of whom attends regularly, the other only when called 
in consultation, or to act as a substitute. Each of the two former 
receives for his services twenty dollars a month, and pays two visits 
daily, one in the morning the other in the afternoon. 

This institution derives its chief support from the property it 
possesses. This consists of forty houses in the city ; from which it 
receives an annual revenue of twenty-five thousand dollars. It also 
receives a considerable sum from seamen and other patients, who 
have to pay for their accommodations. For each of them fifty 
cents a day is charged. 

The most curious objects in this establishment are a cabinet filled 
with old fashioned surgical instruments, and paintings lining the en- 
tries and corridors which surround the court. The paintings in the 
latter are fifty-three in number, and consist almost entirely of the por- 
traits of the friars of St. John, who have died as martyrs in different 
parts of the world. Some of these unfortunate men are represented 
singly, others in groups, suffering the torments inflicted upon them. 
Among these persons are twenty-four friars who were butchered, 
by what are called in the inscription the heretical Cossacks and 
Swiss in Poland, on the 21st of October, 1 696. Another one of the 
martyrs is the venerable father Diego, who was murdered by the 
Choctaw Indians in 1637. There are also among these, Miguel 
and Francisco de Jesus, both of whom were strangled by the Dutch 
in the year 1636. Others of these distinguished friars might be 



PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF CADIZ. 59 

enumerated, but as I have already digressed too much I shall con- 
tinue my notice of the public institutions by speaking of two others, 
viz., the Military Hospital, and the Medico-Chirurgical College. 

Of the former it is unnecessary to say much, as it is similar to 
the hospital just described, and I will only observe concerning it, 
that it was founded in 1757, is very extensive, having two courts, 
one seventy-five, the other ninety feet square, and many large 
wards, two of which are remarkable for going completely around 
one of the courts, one ward encircling the other; that is, one next 
the court and the other to the outer walls. I should likewise 
remark that this building adjoins the college, is attended by eight of 
its professors, who perform duty monthly by month, two at a 
time ; that they are assisted by sixteen students residing in the col- 
lege and hospital, and that the patients consist not only of soldiers 
belonging to the garrison, but also of English sailors taken sick or 
injured at Cadiz, a compact existing to this effect between the 
authorities of Spain and England. 

Of the college, also, it is not necessary to say much. It stands in 
front of the hospital; one end adjoining the latter, the other being on 
a public square ; and it has on one side a yard and on the other a 
botanical garden. It is a building of moderate dimensions, and 
contains, besides the lecture-rooms, offices, and cabinets, the 
chambers of the students attached to the hospital, the library, and 
the academy of medicine and surgery. The lecture-rooms are small : 
but as the students are only two hundred and fifty in number, and 
are divided into seven classes, each having a different hour for 
attendance, there is room sufficient. The principal cabinets were 
those containing the surgical, obstetrical, chemical, and philosophi- 
cal instruments ; and among them w T ere found most of those in com- 
mon use. Some were made in Spain, but most of them in France. 
Among the surgical instruments I sawBaudelocque's forceps, Dupuy- 
tren's arterial compressor, and Civiale's lithotriteur. Speaking of 
the last named instrument, it may be well to state, that the operation 
of lithotrity had been unsuccessfully tried in Cadiz, but had suc- 
ceeded three times in Madrid. 

The library contains six thousand volumes of medical, surgical, 
and other scientific works, which are all well bound and arranged. 
In the library, likewise, is a portrait of Pedro Virgili, an eminent 
literary man, who founded the college in the year 1746. 

The Academy of Medicine and Surgery is a spacious apartment, 
ornamented with the portraits of all the kings and queens of Spain 
who have reigned for about the last hundred years. Dissections are 
performed in a house standing in the botanical garden. This is 
small, but laid off handsomely, adorned with bowers, and filled with 
a great variety of plants, so that the scholars studying botany 
enjoy every opportunity of learning that science ; and the professor, 
to illustrate what he teaches, has only to walk into the garden, or 
to direct the plants he may wish to exhibit to be brought into the 
lecture-room. 



60 



HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 



The Faculty of the college consists of seven stated and two 
supernumerary professors ; but one more of the latter is wanting. 
These professors are chosen from the most eminent of the faculty 
of Cadiz and other parts of Spain ; and some of them have served 
for a long time in the navy. They have different days and hours 
for lecturing. The former, are all those save the Sabbath and 
festivals ; the latter, from twelve to two o'clock, and from five until 
seven in the afternoon. 

The following is a list of the professors, with the names of the 
different branches of medicine and surgery taught by them: — 

Don Francisco de Flores Moreno, M. D., Practice of Medicine. 

Don Jose Benjumeda, M. D., Anatomy. 

Don Jose Maria Lopez, M. D., Clinical Medicine and Experi- 
mental Physics. 

Don Francisco Solano Puga, M. D., Chemistry, Materia Medica, 
and the Art of Prescribing. 

Don Nepamuceno Fernandez, M. D., External Affections, including 
those of the army and navy and public hygiene. 

Don Andres Joaquim Azopardo, M. D., Operative and Clinical 
Surgery. 

Don Jose Gabarron, M. D., Bandages and Medical Jurisprudence. 

Don Jose Arboloya, M. D., Obstetrics, Diseases of Women and 
Children, and Syphilitic Disorders. 

Don Francisco Flores, M. D., Assistant to the Professor of the 
Practice of Medicine. 



The above is a correct list, according to the statement given me ; 
but it will be found that the different branches of instruction are 
not distributed exactly in agreement with what is required by the 
regulations for the government of all the medico-chirurgical 
colleges in Spain. However, as the College of Cadiz is constituted 
on a plan similar to them, other matters relating to it, such as the sala- 
ries of the professors, and the laws for its government, will not be 
spoken of now, but hereafter, when we come to treat of the colleges. 

Before concluding my remarks concerning the college, I may 
observe, that the Academy of Medicine and Surgery is organized as 
all other academies of the kind in the kingdom, and has twenty-two 
members. These hold a meeting the first and second Saturday of 
every month, to attend to the business of the academy. For the 
performance of duties of a public kind, they divide themselves into 
committees, viz., one, consisting of three members, for public 
hygiene ; a second, of four, for medical police ; a third, of five, for 
medical jurisprudence ; a fourth, of three, for medical topography; 
a fifth, of five, for vaccination; and a sixth, of three members, for 
mineral waters. There is also for the duties of subdelegation a 
seventh committee, consisting of five members. The chief or 
president of the academy is the royal superior governing junta of 



CLIMATE OF CADIZ. 61 

medicine and surgery of the kingdom, and the vice president is Don 
Ignacio Ameller, professor exempt of the college, master consultor 
of the navy, and knight of the royal American order of Isabella the 
Catholic. I will say no more respecting this academy, inasmuch as 
I shall write of all the academies in Spain under one head ; and as 
this will be included among them it is unnecessary to state any- 
thing more about it at this time. 

Much more might be said concerning the public institutions of 
Cadiz ; but as the account given is already too long, I will ter- 
minate by some remarks on its climate and diseases. 

Climate. — Notwithstanding the frequent storms occurring, the 
salubrity of the air is unquestionably very great. Situated in a 
temperate latitude, upon the extremity of a peninsula stretching 
out into the Atlantic, enjoying that equality of temperature peculiarly 
maritime, having no lofty, snow-clad mountains to throw down 
their chilling blasts, no marshes in the vicinity to infect the 
atmosphere with their noxious exhalations, and being fanned by 
every breeze which blows from the land or from the ocean. — Cadiz 
may be said to have the best of climates, and most delightful 
situation. To know what the condition of her citizens is with 
regard to health, nothing more is required than to look at them, and 
especially at those of the fair sex. Their graceful, finely propor- 
tioned figures, their brilliant black eyes, glossy hair, fair and ruddy 
complexions, cheerful countenances, and elastic gait, all indicate 
them to be free of disease, and to have been nurtured in a salubrious 
atmosphere. They have the traces of Spanish beauty conjoined 
with those of American, and want that sallow aspect indicative of 
Moorish extraction, and generally possessed by the inhabitants 
of Spain and Portugal. Their remarkable beauty, neveilheless, 
must not be ascribed entirely to the climate ; something is due to 
the plan of the city, the commodiousness of the houses, to clothing, 
to provision, and the benefit derived from good society, exercise, 
and amusement, particularly of dancing, of which they are ex- 
cessively fond, and indulge in no little during cold weather. 
But during carnival they carry these amusements rather to ex- 
cess, and, spending most of the night in going from house to 
house to enjoy them and the masquerades, injure rather than 
benefit their health. Few cities are more abundantly supplied 
with wholesome provisions than this; meat of every sort is plen- 
tiful and cheap, considering the civil war prevailing ; fish of nearly 
every kind, as the flounder, tunney, hollybut, bonita, pike, and a 
large one like our rock, but of a reddish colour and with a larger 
head, are to be found at market every afternoon, in the greatest 
abundance, unless the weather is so stormy as to prevent the fishing 
boats from going out in the morning. 

The bread used is both leavened and kneaded, and of most un- 
common whiteness and sweetness, owing, it is said, to the wheat 
being picked with the fingers, and freed of everv impurity and all 

6* 



Q2 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

imperfect grains. Of course its making and baking must likewise 
contribute to its excellence. 

In fruits and vegetables the city is quite as well supplied. These 
mostly come from the main land, and are brought from Port St. 
Mary. They consist of all the common articles used at table, as 
pears, apples, peaches, apricots, cherries, oranges, melons, and 
grapes; and of tomatoes, potatoes, cauliflowers, and other vege- 
tables, all of which are brought to market in baskets, and put up 
in the nicest style. 

Diseases. — From what has been said, it is apparent that their 
number cannot be great. Those of a serious nature which I saw 
were continued fevers and small-pox ; but they were not at all 
epidemic ; and during the three visits I made to this city it was in 
the enjoyment of as good health as could be desired, certainly as 
excellent as any place containing sixty thousand inhabitants in so 
narrow a compass can reasonably expect. 

In the summer of 1837, during two visits to this port, the crew 
of the United States had the best health ; the admissions on the 
sick list not averaging one a day, and those for trifling complaints, 
with the exception of a case of scrofula and one of phthisis, both 
contracted elsewhere, and two slight cases of continued fever. 
During the last winter, however, there being a good deal of rain 
and stormy weather, and the crew having been much exposed, the 
number of admissions averaged nearly two a day ; but thirty-one 
of these were for catarrh and eight for bubo. The other cases 
were, with a few exceptions, unimportant, and included surgical 
complaints. 

During the two visits paid in the summer it rained only 
twice, and the thermometer varied from 68° to 79°; that is, from 
68° to 71° in the month of June, and from 71° to 79° in that of 
August ; the average in the first instance being 69^°, and in the 
second 75° of Fahrenheit. During the last visit, that is in the 
winter, the temperature averaged 55° in January, and 58° in 
Februarj^. Rain fell in greater or less quantities in nineteen out 
of forty days ; but this w T as an uncommon occurrence, the weather 
being unusually bad, and we may, notwithstanding this and what 
has been said above, recommend Cadiz, not only for the healthiness, 
but also for the agreeableness of its climate. There the invalid 
can have all that is desirable to restore him to his pristine vigour, 
and at the same time can partake of such amusements as are best 
suited to keep him from desponding, and least calculated to be 
detrimental to his health ; or should these cease to interest him, he 
can easily transfer himself to St. Mary's to witness its bull-fights ; 
or should he be too humane to derive pleasure from these horrid scenes 
of bloodshed, he may proceed to Xeriz, ramble through its immense 
vineyards, feast on their delicious fruit, see the mode of preparing 
sherry wine, and go through the magnificent store-houses in which 
it is deposited. 



ROCK OF GIBRALTAR. 63 



GIBRALTAR. 



Although this place is a part of the British dominions, I shall, for 
the sake of preserving order, treat of it as still being a portion of 
Spain, — to which it belongs geographically. 

This celebrated rock and fortress have been so often described, 
that it would be superfluous for me to give a detailed account 
respecting them, and I shall therefore be as concise in my remarks 
as need be. 

Gibraltar, the Mons Calpe of the ancients, is said to take its. 
present appellation from Tarif Abenzeria, the Moorish general 
w r ho landed there and fortified the place in the year 714, naming 
it Gibel Tarif, or Tarif s Mountain. 

Approached from any direction — east, west, north, or south — it 
forms a most conspicuous object, and from each direction bears a 
different form and appearance. Viewed from the north or south its 
form is pyramidical; from the east it seems to be a jagged, barren, 
perpendicular rock, which is perfectly uninhabitable to man or 
beast ; and from the west, an irregularly inclined plain, partly 
formed of rock, partly of earth, and covered at its lower part w 7 ith 
habitations and fortifications. But when it is seen from the north- 
west, it then appears in its outline a stupendous, coarsely sculp- 
tured statue of a lion, couched with the head resting on his 
forepaws, and facing the north. This likeness to a lion is per- 
ceptible at once, and greatly increases the admiration and sense 
of awe experienced by us when we behold this famous fortress. 

The Rock itself is one of grey secondary limestone. It is some- 
what less than three miles long, is three quarters of a mile broad at the 
widest part of its base, forms a serrated edge at top, and has three 
points much more elevated than all others. These points are 
the rock mortar, or its highest northern part ; the point on which the 
signal-house stands; and the sugar-loaf, or its southern point, on the 
top of which are the ruins of the tower termed O'Hara's folly, from its 
having been built by him to overlook Cadiz. The first point is 1 350 
feet high, the second 1276 feet, and the third 1439 feet. The height, 
however, of these points is deceptive, and persons from oftener view- 
ing them from the northward, generally believe the rock mortar to be 
highest, being deceived by the perspective. When they are looked 
at from the east or west, the person being in a line with the middle 
of the Rock, the most elevated of them can be easily ascertained. 

The rock mortar overlooks what is called the neutral ground. 
This is a very low, level, and sandy neck of land, uniting the Rock 
with the Continent, and evidently nothing more than a sand bank, 
which, having been formed by the washing of the sea, has con- 
verted the Rock from an island into a promontory. The neutral 
ground is rather more than a half mile wide next the Rock, and 
gradually increases in breadth as it approaches the main land. 



64 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

It takes its name from the Spanish and English lines of sentinels 
being stationed upon it, and is covered by a considerable number 
of buildings belonging to the two nations. Among those of the 
English are the devil's tower — a solitary, deserted one of stone, 
Overlooking the rest; the slaughter-houses, wherein all the meat 
used by the garrison is butchered ; and a large number of low 
framed houses, forming several villages. 

Of the excavations and fortifications every one has heard, and 
I will not describe them, but will merely observe, that those at the 
northern end of the Rock far exceed all others ; and the stranger is 
seized with wonder when he beholds the deep moats, the lofty 
walls, interposed between the town and neutral ground ; when he 
sees the inaccessible batteries crowning the summit of the rock 
mortar, or displaying their embrasures in the face of the vast preci- 
pices beneath, and from the interior of the Rock through which they 
have been excavated. However, in approaching Gibraltar the first 
time, I was somewhat disappointed in the appearance of the forti- 
fications, for though they are so immense much of them is hidden, 
and a person does not become fully aware of their extent until he has 
examined them closely. 

At the south end of the Rock, called Europa Point, is the Go- 
vernor's cottage; and upon the east side of the former are a small 
cove and the village of St. Catharine, which is on a sand bank at 
its foot, and consists of a few houses chiefly occupied by fishermen. 
The cove is called St. Catharine's Bay. 

Upon the west side are the town, barracks, hospitals, parade 
ground, magazines, moles, dock yard, fountains, tanks, a number 
of cottages and gardens, and a great many stairs, foot paths, and 
roads traversing the Rock in a zigzag manner. On this side, like- 
wise, about one-third the distance from the top to the base of the 
Rock, is the cave called St. Michael's by the English, and St. 
George's by the Spaniards. This cave has an expanded mouth, is 
lined with stalactites, and of very great but unknown depth. By 
some persons it is said to be five hundred yards deep, but this is uncer- 
tain, it being very difficult to explore the cave for that number of 
feet. The descent after getting a few yards down is decidedly 
dangerous; for during last September two soldiers of the forty- 
sixth regiment were killed in making it, both having fallen down a 
considerable distance. One suffered a comminuted fracture of the 
leg, besides other injuries; the other a fracture of the spine. The 
former died in four, the latter five hours after the accident. By 
some it is thought that this cave extends from Gibraltar, beneath 
the sea, to the coast of Morocco, and forms a passage for the apes 
to go from one continent to the other ; but this opinion is absurd and 
has no other reasons for its foundation, than the great depth of the 
cave, and the apes not being visible at all times: and is not more 
probably true, than that the river Alpheus, in Greece, runs beneath 
the sea, and discharges its waters at the fountain of Arethusa near 
Syracuse. To prove the correctness of this opinion there are two 



CLIMATE AND BOTANICAL PRODUCTIONS OF GIBRALTAR. 65 

facts of quite as much weight as those advanced for the support of 
the other, viz., the Alpheus flows into the sea, and the fountain dis- 
charges a stream of water of almost equal size. Moreover, if asser- 
tion were to be taken for facts, there is another one more weighty 
than these : things thrown into the river come out of the fountain, 
a fact to be as well substantiated as that a monkey let loose -at 
Gibraltar can find his way to Apeshill, the other pillar of Hercules 
on the African side. The truth in the two cases stands thus, and 
I am sure no one can doubt it : monkeys are seen on the Rock of 
Gibraltar, and also on Apeshill ; and fresh water is found both in 
the Alpheus and in the fountain of Arethusa. 

Climate. — This resembles that of Cadiz, and of the Mediterranean 
in the same latitude. The same winds prevailing, rain falling at the 
same seasons, and in like quantities, and the temperature of the air 
being about the same ; but of course this must vary according to 
the place where the thermometer is put, whether at the foot, or at 
the top of the Rock, or at a medium height ; or whether on the 
water, or on shore ; and within or without the town. It is often 
cool and pleasant in the harbour during hot weather, and excessively 
sultry and disagreeable in the town; and the reverse of this happens 
during cold weather. 

The most prevalent winds are the easterly and westerly. The latter 
are always attended with fair weather ; the former with mist, clouds, 
rain, and sultriness, unless they incline to the north. When the wind 
blows from the east or south-east it is called a Levanter, is damp and 
warm, and invariably preceded by mists overhanging and obscur- 
ing the Rock and the mountains adjacent. This wind is often 
violent ; striking the Rock with great force, and, being divided into 
currents by its jagged summit, it descends with the utmost fury, 
causing whirlwinds, water-spouts, and whirlpools, and putting the 
ships at anchor and those under sail in great jeopardy. Vessels have 
been capsized repeatedly in both these conditions. An instance 
happened just before I was last there, which, from the singularity 
of the circumstances attending it, deserves to be mentioned. A 
felucca under sail, and midway the bay, w 7 as struck by a whirlwind, 
upset and sunk, leaving all her crew to the mercy of the eddies 
and currents. Most fortunately for them, at the very instant of the 
accident, the boats of two French men-of-war, bound for the Antil- 
les, but which had stopped at Gibraltar to bury the captain of one 
of them, who had drowned himself, were returning from the funeral, 
and on seeing the accident hastened to their assistance, and sue- 
ceeded in saving every one of the crew. Thus the drowning of one 
person providentially prevented many from sharing a like fate. 

Botanical Productions. — Gibraltar has few indigenous plants ; 
nearly all being exotic, and brought there from the main land.* By 
the formation of an artificial soil, however, vegetables are raised in 
considerable quantities ; such as potatoes, cabbages, tomatoes, and 

* These two words, " indigenous" and " exotic," are used in relation ta 
Gibraltar only, and not in relation to Spain. 



66 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

artichokes; and likewise fruits, as lemons, oranges, apricots, figs, 
plums, almonds, peaches, and strawberries. The prickly pear is 
most abundant, the arid rock being well-suited to its production. 
Flowers are found in every garden, and particularly geraniums, 
which are very beautiful, grow to great size, and are so plentiful 
that they are made into hedges. 

Some medicinal plants* are to be met with. These are the datura, 
stramonium, cucumis agrestis, ricinis communis, scilla maritima, 
and papaver somniferum ; but they are scarce, and to be regarded 
as curiosities* 

Zoology. — Besides the ordinary domestic animals few others 
are to be found. Foxes are said to live on the Rock, but I have 
never seen one ; and the apes, so often spoken of as its inhabitants, 
are seldom met with, though it is well known that there are two 
species of them, which live entirely distinct, and hold no intercourse 
with each other, appearing to have a natural antipathy, or certain 
prohibitory laws, which keep them apart. They subsist on grass 
and roots, are excessively devoted to their young, and when they 
die most carefully conceal their remains. The young are now 
and then caught and tamed. 

Birds. — Vultures, eagles, and hawks, are seen occasionally hover- 
ing over the Rock ; and larks, thrushes, sparrows, swallows, and 
red legged partridges, are found upon its uninhabited parts, but none 
are numerous. 

Fish. — Being so well situated — having a large bay on the west, 
into which the current from the Atlantic is constantly pouring, and 
driving before it myriads of fish ; and having the Mediterranean on 
the east, forming another bay, down which a counter current is 
sweeping them back' — the fish market is excellent, and a great 
variety of the finest fish is supplied, as the tunney, turbot, bonita, 
and sole. The crustacean are likewise to be had, as the lobster, 
craw-fish, and shrimp. Among the most common fish are the pilot 
and mackerel.* Both are to be caught in great numbers alongside 
vessels at anchor, and particularly the latter ; the eating of which is 
frequently followed by poisonous effects. I do not know that I have 
ever visited the place without having some patient who was made 
sick in this manner. The mackerel whether fresh or salt causes 
the same symptoms. These are high fever, a flushed face, inflamed 
eyes, violent head-ache, and gastric disorder, with a sense of internal 
heat, continuing for a longer or shorter period according to the 
person and the treatment. The most effectual remedy was an 
emetico-cathartic, of tartrate of antimony and sulphate of magnesia. 
The cause of this fish poisoning is unknown, some ascribing it to its 
feeding on copper banks, others to its eating the medusa or sea 
nettle. Nothing injurious or unnatural is to be discovered in its flavor 
or appearance, and the effects may be caused simply by its indi- 
gestibility. 

* For a particular account of these, see Hennen's Medical Topography, 
f See Plate I., fig. 3. 



TOWN OF GIBRALTAR. 67 

Town. — This is situated partly on a plain to the north-west of 
the Rock, and partly on its declivity ; the houses on the latter rising 
one above the other at such a difference of elevation that the lowest 
story of one is often on a level with the highest story of the next 
house below. The buildings being painted of various colors — red, 
yellow, green, white, and presenting their fronts in regular files, 
show off to the best advantage, add much to the beauty of the town, 
and make it appear much larger than it really is. 

Including the garrison, and all persons living without its limits 
upon the Rock, its population is estimated at twenty thousand, con- 
sisting of Spaniards, Moors, Jews, English, and many more nations. 
Its houses are of stone, and plastered ; usually several stories high, and 
well built. The streets are narrow, well paved with pebbles and 
hewn stones, regular on the plain, irregular upon the declivity, and 
kept in the nicest order ; no filth of any description being permitted to 
lie in them, either from private or public buildings. The same 
cleanliness is observed in other parts; the squares, markets, yards, 
and moles being freed from every thing offensive. With regard to 
the markets the greatest attention is paid. No offal is allowed to be 
thrown about them ; the meat offered for sale is butchered the day 
before on the neutral ground — no animal being slaughtered within 
the garrison — and it is brought to market the next morning in large 
carts, with high, and round tops, which allow the meat to be hung 
up, and prevent it from tainting by contact. 

Neatness is observed likewise in the houses ; but these not being 
subject to the same inspection from the police, those of the poorest 
class are frequently dirty inside and out, being much crowded, 
illy-constructed, very small, and huddled together on the steepest 
parts of the declivity. 

The quarters of the officers are both within and without the 
town, and are mostly large and handsome buildings. The principal 
barracks are the Rosia and Pavilion. They stand south of the 
town above the dock yard, and are very extensive. They are built 
of the same materials as other edifices, present an expanded front 
to the bay, and appear so many distinct palaces. Next them are the 
principal gardens and the chief cemetery, situated in a hollow; and 
between them and the town is the parade ground — a slightly in- 
clined, sandy plain, encompassed by aspin, acacia, and other trees, 
and forming a square; having a circumference of about eight 
hundred yards. Extending along the water battery : and between it 
and the parade ground is the alameda — forming a delightful walk. 
Overlooking these places are several summer-houses hid among 
trees and shubbery, adorning the neighbouring paths and gardens. 
Near these summer-houses is the statue of General Elliott, who distin- 
guished himself so much during the last and celebrated siege, and that 
of Neptune, which was the figure head of the St. Juan, a Spanish ship 
of the line, of one hundred and twenty guns, captured by the English. 
Both of these statues are of wood, but well worthy of notice. That 
of Neptune is admirably executed. It is of colossal size, represents 



68 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

him naked, with his muscular limbs well displayed, and his trident 
plunged into the head of a fish at his feet. This statue is highly 
prized, and carefully preserved by paint. To show it to advantage 
it is placed over a ravine, across which is thrown a rustic bridge, 
much used by persons rambling about the gardens, and passing to 
and from the town. 

Hospitals. — There are two of them ; the Civil, and the Military — 
formerly the Naval Hospital. The former stands above and at the 
back of the town, and commands a fine view of the bay, the Coast 
of Morocco, and the mountains and valleys of Andalusia for many 
miles in extent. It is two stories high, made of stone plastered 
over and painted yellow, has three small courts within, and a yard 
in front filled with orange trees. It is divided into distinct wards 
for Jews, Christians, and Mahometans, and rooms for different pur- 
poses, and contains a museum of curiosities belonging to the ani- 
mal and mineral kingdoms. Among the former are a number of pre- 
parations of the human body. This institution is supported by 
taxes, and quarantine fees, and has a surgeon, purveyor, dispenser 
steward, &c. and other necessary persons, all of whom have fixed 
salaries ; the largest of which is the surgeon's. Every part of the esta- 
blishment is in good order, being near and well regulated. It is 
capable of accommodating a hundred patients. Strangers of res- 
pectability are received and furnished with every thing wanted, 
but they are charged proportionally to the expenses incurred on their 
account. 

The Military Hospital is situated adjacent to the dock-yard, 
beyoncj. the Rosia barracks, and upon a level space upon the side 
of the Rock. It is constructed of the same materials as the Civil 
Hospital, but is after a different plan, having only one court. This 
is of large size, being about sixty feet w r ide and one hundred long, 
and has a corridor around each of its two stories ; these commu- 
nicate by stairs, at the corners of the corridors. The first story is 
divided into many apartments, appropriated to various purposes ; 
the second into wards and dispensaries, which are placed at the cor- 
ners of the building. The wards are eight in number; they are well 
lighted, and are ventilated by wooden valves in their ceilings, which 
are formed by the roof itself. There are two valves to every 
ward, and all of them are worked by ropes extending to the floor. 
These valves when opened discharge the foul air through small 
Venetian cupolas standing over them, and upon the highest part of 
the roof. Each one of the wards has a fire-place and plank floor, and 
is large enough for forty patients, so that the hospital can hold three 
hundred and twenty. Some of the rooms in the first story being 
used as wards, the whole house might accommodate five hundred 
patients very conveniently. Every patient is furnished w T ith an iron 
bedstead with a sacking bottom, a mattrass, sheets, coverlet, and 
pillow. When any one is not confined to bed, and has no immediate 
need of it, it is carefully rolled and lashed up, and put on the foot of 
the bedstead for the day. All the patients are dressed in the same 



HOSPITALS OF GIBRALTAR. 69 

manner ; wearing white night caps, white flannel wrappers, and leather 
slippers. At the time of admission they deposit their uniforms in 
the store-rooms, and wear the hospital dress until they are dis- 
charged. 

Upon the wall at the head of each bed is hung a small tin frame, 
containing a card, on which is written the name of the patient, 
the number of his company, the time of his admission, and his 
disease. The sick of the different regiments, of which there are 
five, are in separate wards ; and those of the forty-sixth one were 
on the east side. Among them were some affected with remittent 
fever, and six with purulent ophthalmia, with which this regiment 
had suffered much, thirty of them having been under treatment for 
it in the last quarter. The six cases were all violent ; in one, that 
of a soldier beyond the meridian of life, opacity existed throughout 
the cornea of the right eve ; the lower lid of which at its inner 
part w T as ulcerated for two or three lines in length and a line in 
breadth, and looked as if it had been cut off, which caused me to inquire 
when I first looked at him if this had been done. Dr. Galliani, ihe 
surgeon of the forty-sixth, said that all the cases were caused by 
stationing sentinels on that part of the southern declivity of the 
Rock called Windmill Hill, where they were much exposed to 
night air, the sun, and to the southerly winds, which are highly 
charged with sand. The most efficacious remedy, the doctor stated, 
was the nitras argenti in solution, in the proportion of twenty grains 
to an ounce of water, applied to the eye. 

For the support of every patient the government allows nine 
pence, or eighteen cents per day; .which sum is amply sufficient, as 
thirty-eight pounds sterling remained as a surplus of the last 
quarter. The provisions wanted are supplied by the purveyor, who 
is given a list of what are required the day before they are to be 
used. At the termination of the quarter he sends in his bills, which 
having been approved by the surgeon, and certified by him to be 
correct, are paid by the commissariat, who holds the funds. There 
is an account sent to government, every quarter, of the provisions 
served out, the money expended, the quantity of medicines used, and 
how much remain on hand ; and of the number of patients who 
have been leeched. For the leeches there is a distinct bill, speci- 

I tying the persons on whom they have been applied. The expen- 
diture of all other articles is put down on a sheet of paper after a 
certain form, of which two copies are sent out quarterly. The 
duplicate is kept by the surgeon. 

To avoid mistakes, and to let every patient know what food is 
directed for him, a diet list is made out daily, and also on a sheet 
of paper, which is put into a frame and hung up in each ward for 
inspection. The names of all the patients are put down on this 
list in regular order, and opposite them on the other side of the 
paper the diet, which is of three kinds — full, half, and low. Each 

/ kind has a separate column ; at the head of which it is placed. 
Accordingly as he is to be dieted, a mark is put opposite the name 

7 



70 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

of each patient in one of the three columns. Full diet is a half 
pound of beef, part of a fowl, a pound of potatoes, and a quart of 
tea, per day ; half diet is the half of these quantities ; and low diet 
is one of farinaceous articles. 

For medicines, and other articles wanted by the surgical depart- 
ment, there is a store-house for all the regiments, from which they 
are given out by requisition. Instruments of all sorts, used in ope- 
rating, are said to be furnished by the surgeons. This hcis two 
advantages ; a selection of those most approved by them, and a 
great saving to government. The medicines, lint, plasters, &c, 
were kept both on the shelves and in the drawers of the dispensary, 
and also in a chest used in active service. This chest consisted of 
strong boards well planed, bound by iron plates, having a top with 
lock and hinges, and divided within into different compartments to 
suit the articles contained. These compartments formed layers 
resting upon each other, and made moveable ; so that when any 
thing was wanted at bottom, it could be obtained without disar- 
ranging things at top. While speaking of this chest, it may be 
well to observe that a similar one is used for sending supplies from 
England to the surgical departments of the Navy ; and that to save 
room all the bottles are of a square form and of a fixed size. 

For attendance on the invalids of each regiment there are a sur- 
geon; two assistant surgeons, who are on duty alternately; two 
male nurses; and a sergeant, who acts as steward, keeps order, and 
attends to the food and clothes, and to the cleaning of the wards. 
To prevent the patients from leaving the hospital without permis- 
sion, sentinels are stationed at the gate and around the premises. 
Elopement, however, is rarely attempted, the hospital dress causing 
instant detection. 

Overlooking the hospital, at the distance of a hundred or more 
yards, is the private residence of the surgeon, Dr. Galliani, who 
has choice of living there or at the hospital. As a matter of 
comfort he prefers his present location ; and goes to see his patients 
every morning and evening. Dr. Galliani, is a man of high standing 
as a surgeon and gentlemen, and is an Italian by birth. He has been 
twenty-six years in service, and at the expiration of thirty years 
will have the privilege of retiring on a pension of fifteen shillings a 
day for life, to enjoy that rest and tranquillity to which his long and 
arduous services entitle him. Such liberality on the part of the 
British, or any other government, must induce every officer to serve 
it faithfully in the prime of his life, so that when advanced in 
age and desirous of repose, he may have his wishes gratified, and 
although unemployed have a comfortable subsistence. This regu- 
lation is indeed the best policy ; proving of the greatest benefit 
to the government, and holding forth the most tempting reward 
to the officer to continue in its service, and to perform his duties 
willingly and punctually. 

Thus taken care of when advanced in life, when worn out with 



DISEASES OF GIBRALTAR. 71 

toil and too decrepid to serve, no officer will fail to support such a 
government, nor love the country to which it belongs. 

Diseases. — From personal observation of these I cannot speak 
positively, but, according to the statements of others, there appear 
to be none peculiar to Gibraltar, those prevailing being found as 
common elsewhere ; such as measles, scarlatina, complaints of the 
alimentary canal, pulmonic affections, and fevers, of which the bilious 
remittent is the most common: it has from time to time committed 
great havoc in the garrison. While last there I saw the graves of 
two of the officers who had just died of this fever: but they were 
said to have contracted it by travelling into the interior during; very 
not weather. 

Whenever I visited the place, the crews of the two ships 
enjoyed excellent health, and were affected by no disorders ascri- 
bable to their being there. 

I think, then, that Gibraltar may be properly called a healthy place ; 
and that we should attribute this to its peculiar position, the mildness 
of the climate — it being in a great measure free from the causes of 
malaria — and to its excellent police. Its exemption from contagious 
and infectious diseases may be rendered greater by the quarantines 
imposed on vessels from ports where they exist ; but nevertheless 
these are often as great nuisances here as in the south of Europe 
generally. As an instance of their absurdity, I will mention a 
circumstance which was told me by a gentleman of the greatest 
veracity, who was directly concerned in the business. 

The ship Leonidas, of New York, on her way from Porto Rico to 
Trieste, when near the Straits met with another vessel, and in 
attempting to speak ran afoul of her. Both vessels were much 
damaged ; and the Leonidas having carried away her bowsprit and 
fore-top mast, put into Gibraltar in distress, and to repair the 
damage received. When she got into port, she was neither given 
■pratique nor permission to remain in quarantine, but was ordered 
to leave the port. The American consul, Mr. Sprague, having inter- 
fered in her behalf, the board of health gave her the alternative of 
remaining at Gibraltar forty days in quarantine, or after repairing 
damage, of going to a port where there was a foul lazaretto, riding 
out the quarantine there, and paying in the interim the expenses of 
the workmen employed and taken aboard. The master resolved 
to take the last alternative, and accordingly got three carpenters 
aboard, having agreed to carry them to Trieste after the vessel was 
repaired, to pay their charges, and to bring or to send them back to 
Gibraltar. This I consider one of the grosest abuses of quarantining 
which has come under my notice. A vessel crosses the Atlantic from 
a port more than 3000 miles distant, receives an injury, puts into 
another port in distress, and when needing every indulgence is thus 
harshly treated and quarantined; while vessels arriving from Tangier. 
only a few leagues off, laden with wool, provisions, and other arti- 
cles, are allowed, daily and hourly, at once to hold communication. 
The consul wrote to our minister, I understood, on the subject ; and 



72 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

was endeavouring, when we left, to get the evil remedied. The reasons 
assigned for such a gross abuse of quarantine, I understood, were, 
that the English government would not allow the board to do other- 
wise ; and that they were obliged to do at Gibraltar as at other 
ports in the Mediterranean. The first reason is without weight, as 
it is well known that the government has given them permission to 
adopt such quarantine regulations as are required. As for the 
second reason, it must be granted to be of some force, and to justify 
in a degree this abominable practice, although it is contrary to the 
best interests of commerce, and exceedingly inconvenient to all 
persons who are so unlucky as to be suspected of being impregnated 
with the virus of some dreaded disorder. It is to be hoped that our 
consul has succeeded in effecting a change ; and that in future no 
American or other vessel will be received in the same inhospitable 
manner, when in distress, as that of which the Leonidas can justly 
complain. 



ALGESIRAS AND MALAGA. 

The first of these places is a town of ten or twelve thousand 
inhabitants, on the western side of the Bay of Gibraltar, and five 
miles from the Rock. It has some trade, but chiefly, it is thought, 
of a contraband kind. Certain it is, that smuggling between it and 
Gibraltar is carried on more extensively and openly than I have 
seen elsewhere. This town has a white and neat appearance at a 
distance, and the country about being very fertile its inhabitants 
live apparently comfortable and contented. They subsist in great 
part by agriculture, going out in the country in the morning to till 
their farms, and returning to town in the evening. This is a custom 
throughout this part of Andalusia ; and is indeed a common one in 
Italy and southern Europe generally ; very few of the husbandmen 
living in cottages on the land. Olives, wheat, and grapes are the chief 
products, andare raised in large quantities ; but, nevertheless, from the 
disturbed state of the kingdom, the second article of late years has 
been so dear that much of it is brought from the Black Sea to Gibral- 
tar, thence in the evening is taken from the vessels bringing it, by 
small boats rowed usually by one or two^men, and smuggled across 
the bay to Algesiras. 

Of this place I have nothing of interest professionally to say ; it 
having no medical institutions, Its climate and diseases are much 
the same as those of the parts of Spain already described. 

Of Malaga no more can be said than of Algesiras ; for although 
it is a city containing 80,000 souls, yet it has no medical institu- 
tions, no museums, no libraries, and no hospitals, worthy of descrip- 
tion, or even of being named. The civil hospital is a small, illy- 
constructed building, is badly regulated, and contains a very small 
number of persons. The streets are mere alleys, generally irregular, 
and not remarkable for cleanliness. The private houses are like 
those of Seville in most respects. The only two public edifices 



PROFESSION OF MEDICINE IN SPAIN. 73 

meriting notice, are the Aduana, or Custom-house, formerly the 
tobacco manufactory, which is a fine building, forming a square 
of common dimensions ; and the cathedral, a gothic structure of 
immense size, and deserving from its architecture, the manner in 
which the work about it is executed, the name of elegant and 
magnificent. It is so large, that in approaching the city from sea 
it appears out of proportion to all the buildings around. Its length 
is more than three hundred and its breadth more than two hundred 
feet. Its height corresponds : one of the steeples, that which is finished, 
having an elevation of three hundred and twenty-seven feet. This 
steeple was completed in 1779, and is made, as the rest of the build- 
ing, of hewn limestone, worked in the finest manner; and from its 
top commands a splendid view of the adjacent country. 



PRESENT CONDITION OF THE PROFESSION OF MEDICINE IN SPAIN, 

Judging from what I have seen of the medical men in Spain, 
I do not think them worthy of the odium and disrepute under 
which they suffer in other countries. It cannot be denied that 
they are, and have been for many years, behind the members 
of the profession of several other kingdoms of Europe in im- 
provement ; that they have made few discoveries in the nature 
and treatment of diseases ; in the proper method of curing wounds, 
fractures, and other injuries ; or in the construction of instruments 
and apparatus ; or in chemistry, and other collateral sciences. But, 
still, they are not as unskilful and as illiterate as they are repre- 
sented ; and whether they are deservedly so or not, it is certain 
that they possess great respectability and influence with all classes 
of society. Indeed, it is not a little surprising, that, amid all the 
revolutions, and many disturbances which have taken place of late 
in the kingdom, its faculty have been permitted in a great degree 
to remain in a comparative state of tranquillity ; and while the mem- 
bers of every other profession have been retrograding, and the all- 
powerful priesthood have been reduced to the lowest condition, that 
they have continued unchanged, and have maintained themselves in 
all their pristine prosperity. 

It appears to me that one of the principal causes of the disrepute 
in which the Spanish faculty is held by their brethren, is the very 
small compensation they are said to receive for their services. 
Their compensation, measured by a foreign standard, is truly moder- 
ate and inadequate, but in reality is not so much so as believed ; for 
in the first place, their fees being low, they are oftener employed ; 
and in the second they are paid in cash, so that they do not from 
having long accounts, and numerous charges against their patients, 
appear to be in the receipt of very large incomes, and yet have in 
fact very small ones, as is the case in the United States and other 



74 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

countries, where accounts are kept for professional services ren- 
dered. Moreover, the Spanish physicians enjoy very great advan- 
tage in this respect, that they have none of their practice taken away 
from them by quacks, and the unlimited sale of nostrums ; for neither 
the former nor the latter are permitted — laws existing, for the sup- 
pression of all such nuisances to the profession and to the public. 

From the Spanish faculty partaking in a great measure of the re- 
serve peculiar to the nation, I was not able to learn as much of them as 
otherwise I should ; but from what I could observe, they may be said 
to be polite and dignified in their manners; as well, if not better in- 
formed than any other class of men in Spain; and in their profession 
much more practical than theoretical; being little given to writing. 
In this respect they are extremely singular, for an original profes- 
sional work is nearly unknown ; and even to periodicals they seem 
to have an antipathy : for, according to what I could learn, the only 
one published is in Madrid, and this has so limited a circulation 
that it was impossible for me to obtain a single copy. For recent 
information they rely almost exclusively on French publications, 
and chiefly on the periodicals published in Paris. The only 
English works I met with were those of Cullen and other medical 
authors of about the same period. These works were mostly 
translated into Spanish. Of those by American authors I met 
with none; and the Spanish physicians seem to be acquainted with 
few of even the most celebrated of them. Finally, in consequence 
of the perusal of French publications, Spain having been so often 
over-run by their armies, and many of the Spanish faculty having 
been partly, if not altogether, educated in the medical schools of 
France, their practice appears to be chiefly that of the modern 
French school, though it still partakes considerably of the ancient 
practice in Spain and other parts of Europe. 

Having given this sketch of the profession of medicine in Spain, 
I shall proceed to communicate such information respecting the 
laws for its government, its institutions, and other subjects connected, 
with it as I was enabled to gather. The information given has 
been in great part derived from the perusal of publications made with 
the sanction of the crown for the government of the faculty, so that 
it is as correct as it was possible to obtain. Though much of it 
is unimportant, and may afford little useful instruction ; yet other 
parts may prove interesting and amusing, especially those respect- 
ing the medico-chirurgical colleges, and the ancient ceremonies 
observed in them. 



THE ROYAL ACADEMIES OF MEDICINES AND SURGERY. 

Among the most useful institutions in that kingdom are these 
academies ; and to Ferdinand the Seventh is chiefly due their estab- 
lishment on the present efficient plan ; for under his patronage they 
obtained the eminence which they now possess. Several decrees 
were made by him for their benefit ; the principal of which were 
that of June 10th, 1827, and that of August 31st, 1830. Agreea- 






ROYAL ACADEMIES OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY. 75 

bly to those decrees, the royal superior governing junta of medi- 
cine and surgery, composed of the three physicians of the royal 
chamber, was appointed the chief of the academies, in place of 
the Minister of Grace and Justice, who had been their director 
and patron. 

The junta suggests, and recommends to the government for its 
approval, any variations and additions required by these regula- 
tions ; nominates subdelegates to the districts ; forwards to govern- 
ment the petitions and other communications of the academies or 
their members on subjects relating to them ; inquires into their con- 
dition, and enacts such laws for them as are thought necessary. 
It calls extraordinary meetings of a portion, or of all the academies, 
fixes and varies the number of members, expels and deprives of his 
title any unworthy one, grants medals, and annually renders to 
government an account of the taxes destined for the preservation 
and prosperity of the academies. Finally, the junta makes known 
to government any of the members who are thought on account of 
their services deserving of pensions, and communicates to it any 
thing relating to the academies, deemed worthy of its attention. 

The number of academies established in the kingdom are ten, viz., 
that of Madrid, for New Castile; that of Valladolid, for Old Castile ; 
that of Corunna, for Galicia and the Asturias ; that of Seville, for the 
upper part of Andalusia, for Cordova, and Estremadura ; that of 
Cadiz, for the lower part of Andalusia; that of Grenada, for the 
kingdom of the same name, Jaen, and Murcia ; that of Saragossa, 
forArragon; and that of Palma-Majorca, for the Balearic Islands. 

The academies then are not as numerous as the kingdoms — Spain 
being composed of fifteen of these — and do not limit their authority 
exclusively to the kingdoms wherein they are situated. For instance, 
as may be seen above, the Academy of Grenada has control over 
it and also over Jaen and Murcia ; the former of which belongs to 
the kingdom of Andalusia. 

Moreover, the academies are distributed irregularly in another 
respect; for Seville and Cadiz, both of which belong to Andalusia, 
have distinct academies. 

In the different provinces the academies have subdelegations, in 
districts with which a strict correspondence is maintained. 

The academies are ranked according to seniority, are required to 
consult the junta on all important subjects thought deserving of its 
attention, and make known to it whatever occurs in the districts 
of the subdelegations. 

The members of the academies are divided into three classes — 
ordinary, aggregates, and correspondents ; all of whom are ranked 
at their meetings according to seniority. The ordinary vary 
in number proportionately to the medico-cirujanos, the physicians, 
and Latin surgeons, of the capitals where academies are estab- 
lished. Two-thirds of the ordinary members in every new academy 
are appointed by the junta, and these elect the other third, by a secret 
vote. Any person who aspires to be an ordinary member, is required 



76 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

to present a memorial to the academy of which he wishes to become 
a member, through the secretary, and at the same time to furnish 
recommendations. The academy, thereupon, appoints a committee 
to examine the documents, and to learn the habits of the applicant. 
If the investigations prove satisfactory, the aspirant delivers a memoir 
or dissertation, composed in Castilian Spanish, upon any subject he 
may choose, provided it belongs to the branch to which he aspires. 
A committee having been appointed the memoir is examined. If it is 
approved, the aspirant reads it publicly in the academy. After- 
wards, any number of the members, not exceeding five, can make any 
remarks they may think fit respecting the memoir ; and then a 
secret vote is taken about his admission. Should he be elected, he 
receives notice of it, takes a seat at the next meeting, and has his 
seniority reckoned from that time. 

The ordinary associates are obliged to reside in the place where 
the academy is situated, and lose their titles should they remove 
elsewhere ; but when they return can re-assume them. However, 
they never regain their seniority. 

This class is the only one having the right of suffrage on all sub- 
jects introduced at the ordinary meetings, unless a member of 
another class should be invited to instruct them ; and in that case 
the member invited can vote on the subject. 

The professors of the royal colleges of medicine and surgery, 
those of medicine in the royal universities, and the examiners of the 
subdelegation of the academies are, ex-officio, ordinary associates in 
the places where the academies are situated. 

The class of aggregates are subdelegates residing in the districts 
which have academies. 

The associate correspondents are all those persons who send 
interesting notices relative to the science and its auxiliary branches. 
Any one who fails to correspond for two years loses his title. The 
three classes of associates are appointed from the three branches of 
the profession; that is, from the medico-cirujanos, the physicians, 
and the surgeons. Every associate is liable to expulsion for bad 
conduct, when reported to the junta; but if sickness or advanced 
age prevent him from the discharge of his duties he retains all his 
distinctions. When one removes from the place wherein his 
academy is located, he. can be initiated into that of the place to 
which he removes, and remain a correspondent or a subdelegate to 
the former academy. 

The Academicians enjoy the privileges of the servants of the 
royal chamber, and are reported as such to the junta, their president, 
and to the major domo, for his recognition and other purposes. The 
ordinary members and aggregates have a particular uniform ; are ex- 
officio members of a body governing a hospital, a house of charity, 
one of seclusion, or of imprisonment. Every associate receives from 
the junta such compensation as it thinks compatible with the funds 
appropriated for the academies, and he is preferred in promotions to 
any person not an associate. For the first five years after the esta- 
blishment of an academy, in order that the funds may accumulate, no 



ROYAL ACADEMIES OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY. 77 

compensations are made. If any associate whatever of the three 
classes should write and present a literary work to one of the 
academies which the junta or academy approves, he receives a 
medal ; signifying that it is a gift from his sovereign for surpassing 
merit in medicine. The ordinary associates are required to attend 
punctually all the meetings. These are of three kinds ; stated, 
special, and general. The first are held every five days: and 
at them the members speak of prevalent diseases ; read memoirs and 
notices presented the academy ; discuss any medical or surgical 
subject, or any point in the collateral sciences ; and deliberate upon 
economical and administrative matters. When thought necessary, 
committees are appointed for any business connected with the institu- 
tion, and for the nomination of a person to deliver an eulogium on 
any deceased and meritorious member. 

There are standing committees for certain purposes, viz. for 
public hygiene, medical police, legal medicine, medical topography, 
vaccination, mineral waters, &c. To each committee area chair- 
man and a secretary. The former appoints the place and hour of 
meeting. 

The first stated meeting of the academy takes place on the 
second of January, when the ordinary associate whose turn it is 
delivers an inaugural oration. The session begun, any member 
losses his emoluments who does not attend a quarter of an hour 
after the time fixed for the meeting. 

The aggregates and correspondents are permitted to assist at the 
stated meetings, to read any discourse on the subject in con- 
sideration, and to give information of prevalent diseases, but they 
have to retire when administrative subjects are to be discussed. 

The special meetings occur at any time of the year the royal 
superior junta, or the vice-president, may think necessary. Be- 
fore it occurs notice is given by a bill of the time and place, and 
the object, unless it is to be kept secret. In these meetings they 
treat only of the subjects for which they were called. The mem- 
bers are the ordinary ones alone, if the subject is economical or 
administrative ; but if this be professional or literary, the meetings 
are composed of all the academicians. 

The general meetings are held whenever the royal junta or the 
academies deem them requisite from the great importance of the 
subject to be considered. If necessary, the subdelegates or aggre- 
gates attend these meetings, notice having been given in due time ; 
and any person not attending them for the fourth part of the time 
they take place in any one year, loses all his distinctions, privi- 
leges, and compensations ; unless he have been sick or engaged in 
the service of the sovereign. 

Officers of the Academies. — They are the vice-president, secre- 
taries, and librarian, or archive-keeper. They are elected from the 
ordinary members chiefly, and hold their offices for two years, at the 
expiration of which time they have substitutes or, they are re-elected. 
If unwilling to serve again they can refuse to do so, having given 



78 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

satisfactory reasons for refusing. Their expenses and salaries are 
paid from the funds of the institutions. 

The vice-president maintains good order at the meetings ; con- 
vokes extraordinary ones on matters of importance; proposes 
subjects of deliberation ; publishes resolutions ; takes care of the 
punctual observance of the statutes and decrees of the academy ; 
and commands, provisionally, what he thinks proper for good order 
and government. He signs letters, titles, and warrants, and per- 
forms any other duty assigned by the regulations. 

There are two secretaries; one for reading, the other for 
foreign correspondence. The former gives out notices of the 
meeting ; keeps the papers and seal; takes the votes ; and has charge 
of all the books of record. The latter attends exclusively to cor- 
respondence with different foreign bodies and individuals, and 
translates into Spanish, if necessary, papers remitted by them. His 
other duties are all relative to these ; such as making out degrees or 
honorary letters for strangers, and keeping the books and documents 
respecting them. These secretaries employ clerks if needed, and 
receive a compensation double that of the other associates. 

Business of the Academies. — These are chiefly the promotion 
of public health ; making observations on diseases, especially con- 
tagious and epidemic ones ; advancing the science of medicine, and 
promoting the interests of its professors. They likewise make ex- 
periments to ascertain the efficacy of new medicines ; publish essays 
on the most interesting medical subjects ; criticise professional 
works, and collect materials for the formation of a history of 
Spanish medicine and surgery, and for periodical publications. 

If any associate announces to an academy a discovery, he is 
called on to prove it before the meeting, or a committee appointed 
by it ; or he must produce papers to give credit to the alleged 
discovery. No associate is allowed to publish the discovery of 
another without his consent or that of the academy. 

Should a member desire to publish any work, and should not 
have the funds wanted, it is published at the expense of the academy, 
which receives the profits arising from its sale until reimbursed, 
and then it delivers to the author or translator the copies remaining 
on hand. The academies are occupied also in the examination of 
physicians, midwives, and bachelors in medicine. The midwives 
are altogether examined by the surgical associates. 

It is the duty of the academies to inform the public authorities on 
all subjects relating to medical police; to attend to the construction 
of hospitals, lazarettos, houses of charity, prisons, butcheries, ceme- 
teries, ports, canals, theatres, and churches; to give advice concern- 
ing the draining of ponds and lakes; and the manner of procuring the 
extinction of ail contagious dLv-ses; and to recommend any thing 
beneficial to public health. 

For the discharge of these duties, committees, or juntas de sani- 
dad are appointed. The principal junta is the supreme one, which 
has two members of the royal junta of medicine and surgery. 



ROYAL ACADEMIES OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY. 79 

All the other juntas of health are composed of the associates ; and. 
if they are not sufficient, of any other members of the profession. 
One of their chief duties is the inspection of the good or bad quality 
of provisions, and reporting to the authorities any thought unwhole- 
some. They also see that the streets are kept clean ; that all un- 
healthy nuisances are removed ; investigate the nature of epidemics, 
report thereon to the academies, inquire the causes of both epidemic 
and contagious disorders, and suggest the means of checking them. 
The committees for vaccination attend once or twice every week 
at the place appointed, and vaccinate gratuitously all who present 
themselves. These committees also obtain information concern- 
ing the cows in Spain on which the vaccine pustules exist, and 
attend to the procuring of fresh and genuine matter. 

Besides these duties, the academies have others of equal if not 
more importance. For instance, the decision of every case of me- 
dical jurisprudence, whether canonical or civil; the suppression of 
quacks and the sale of secret remedies, or remedies without recipe ; 
appointing persons to take charge of mineral waters ; and filling 
vacancies in the districts ; and, finally, the maintaining of medical 
police. In cases of medical jurisprudence the academies give the 
information required by the magistrate and judges to remove any 
doubts. For the examination and decision of these cases, or for 
any medico-legal instruction, a committee is elected. Whenever 
quacks and other intruders are reported to the authorites, judges, 
governors, &c, they are bound to chastise them ; and if they should 
not they are liable themselves to incur punishment upon being report- 
ed by the royal junta to the government. Every associate is required 
to take notice of the sale of any quack specific or secret remedy, or 
any one which an apothecary or other persons should sell unpre- 
scribed by the faculty. The academies, moreover, direct the medical 
police, which is intended to punish those of the profession not 
conducting themselves with honor, decorum, and legality ; and the 
physician is obliged by them to own all the instruments necessary 
for practice, and certain classical books. Practitioners accom- 
panying ministers, ambassadors, and other diplomatists, are put 
under these restrictions. The subdelegates report regularly the 
names of all the faculty of their district — those persons about esta- 
blishing themselves, or who have removed or died being included ; 
and they also take charge of the titles of those who die, and report 
their dates. 

The censors, to examine candidates for the filling of vacancies, 
are chosen from that class of the profession to which the candidates 
belong; for instance, the censors chosen to fill the vacancies of a 
physician must be physicians ; or if candidates offer for a place in 
surgery the censors must be surgeons. The examinations are 
chiefly practical ; after them the candidates are allowed to make 
remarks, and to propose questions. No one filling any of these sta- 
tions is permitted to remove from them without giving sufficient 
reasons to the academies. 

The subdelegates discharge any duties required of them by the 



80 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

academies, and under their immediate control. They may be 
medical-surgeons, physicians only, or licentiates in medical sur- 
gery ; and in great populations, as of Madrid, Seville, &c, are ap- 
pointed with the approbation of the royal junta. Their duties are 
similar to those of the academies. 

Libraries and Cabinets. — They are formed only where there is 
no school of medicine and surgery. They are composed of foreign 
and national works, belonging to medicine, surgery, and the col- 
lateral sciences, and of all those published by the academies. Each 
member who publishes a book is required to furnish a copy. The 
librarian is some member distinguished for professional knowledge 
and literary attainments; and besides having charge of the library, 
has that of the cabinets of botany, anatomy, physics, chemistry, &c. 

By a provisional law of July 23, 1835, the academies take part 
in preparing a census of the population, and other statistics of the 
country. 

Revenue. — This is derived, in great part, from the fees charged 
for conferring degrees and titles, the inquests into epidemics, the 
publication of works, per centage upon cash imported from the 
Indies, and gifts from the royal junta. The following is a list of 
charges for degrees, viz, 20 reals* for that of bachelor in phi- 
losophy and in medicine; lOOtfor a surgeon-bleeder; 250 J for a licen- 
tiate in surgery ; 250 for that of physician ; 500§ for the degree 
of medico-cirujano ; and so on. 

To conclude; the academies are empowered to form such resolu- 
tions, and take such means as they think fit for the discharge of 
their functions. For any change in these regulations they must 
appeal to the royal superior junta; and all regulations made anterior 
to the above, for the government of academies, of the faculty, the 
colleges of practical medicine in Madrid, Saragossa, and other 
parts of Spain, are declared annulled and repealed: moreover, all 
the funds, rents, grants, and privileges of these extinguished institutions 
are now the property of the Royal Academies of Medicine and Sur- 
gery ; so that being organized in the best manner, and well patro- 
nized, they are in a prosperous condition, held in the highest 
estimation both by the professon and by the people, and can com- 
pete with those of any other country in usefulness and respectability. 



ROYAL COLLEGES OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY. 

Among the most important decrees made by Ferdinand the 
Seventh was that of the twenty-sixth of June, 1827, for the 
establishment of these colleges ; but to some of the Spanish faculty 
is due the credit of suggesting and recommending this to be done, 
and of drawing up the regulations for their government. 

* One dollar. f Five dollars. 

£ Twelve dollars and a half. § Twenty-five dollars. 



ROYAL COLLEGES OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY. 81 

These colleges are three in number ; there is one at Cadiz, as 
already mentioned ; another at Barcelona ; and a third at Madrid. 
For instruction in the science of medicine alone there is a school 
attached to each of the universities, of which there are said to be 
only seven or eight at the present time in operation, though 
formerly they were twenty-two in number. These colleges are 
under the control of the royal superior governing junta of 
medicine and surgery. This junta was created to watch over 
and see executed the laws or regulations made by the king 
for the better government of all institutions and persons belong- 
ing to the profession of medicine, and was, therefore, invested 
with extraordinary powers. It was originally composed of the 
five members of the faculty of the royal chamber, and of one 
secretary ; but it is now formed only of the three medico- ciruj an os of 
the royal chamber, and of a secretary, who is likewise a medico- 
cirujano.* When the place of any one of these members is vacated 
the junta reports it to the crown, and proposes three persons in their 
opinion most worthy of filling the vacancy, and from them is made 
the selection for that purpose. 

The three members of the junta possess the same powers, distinc- 
tions, and prerogatives, save that the senior one, being the president, 
can summon meetings, appoints the time of them, and signs his 
name the first — the others signing theirs below in the order of their 
seniority. For his services each member receives a salary of 14,000 
reals, or 700 dollars a year. 

The junta meets every Monday and Thursday, unless they are 
festivals, and if they should be, on the two succeeding days. The 
meetings take place in Madrid, or wherever the sovereign may 
be residing. The votes are given in an inverse order to the 
seniority of the members. No one of them is allowed to sign alone 
any document, and all communications to the crown, to the 
secretaries of state, to the councils, and other branches of the 
government, are signed by all the members. 

The junta proposes to all the offices of the colleges, save 
some of those of the professors ; transmits to the government the 
petitions and communications of the faculty; signs the titles of doc- 
tors, licentiates, and bachelors in medicine, and in medicine and sur- 
gery ; also, those of surgeon-bleeders, midwives, and bachelors of 
arts, in any of the colleges of medicine and surgery. Moreover, the 
junta can establish academies of medicine and surgery wherever it 
thinks fit, can make regulations for their government, preside 
individually at their meetings, appoint subdelegates to detect those 
who practice medicine without titles, fine offenders, and draw from 
the treasury the money necessary to defray and exercise authority in 
many other matters. In fact, this junta is a most powerful body, 
a nd constitutes a triumvirate, not very far short in authority to that 
f the former mistress of the world ; but of course only in affairs 
relative to the medical profession. In making communications to 

* A medico-cirujano is a graduate in both medicine and surgery 

8 



82 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

the sovereign they are obliged to send them through the Minister 
of Grace and Justice. 

That this junta may greatly promote the interests of the profes- 
sion, maintain good order among its members, and improve the 
healing art, is probable, provided it makes a proper use of its 
powers ; but should it abuse them it would do much more harm than 
good both to the profession and the public at large. Its discipline 
may be too strict, may cramp enterprise, prevent the advancement 
of such of the faculty as are without influence, keep back the 
meritorious, and establish a system of exclusive patronage. Its 
authority, then, as it is liable to these abuses, must be too great, 
and although submitted to by the members of the medical profession 
in Spain, would never be tolerated by those of the United States, 
or of any other country where liberty and equality prevail. 

To conclude, concerning this junta : — its secretary signs all the 
resolutions ; he is allowed four clerks and a porter ; and if one of the 
members should die, or be unable to attend to duty from indispo- 
sition or any other cause, he takes his place, and retains it until 
another vocal is appointed, or the absent one has returned. 

For the scholastic government of the colleges there are other 
juntas ; one to each of them. These juntas are composed of the 
catedraticos, or professors, the most ancient of whom are the pre- 
sidents or directors ; but in the colleges of Madrid and Barcelona 
they are partly formed of the clinical professors, or what are termed 
the catedraticos de clinica, and who are the faculty attending the 
hospitals : the title of professor in Spain being a common one for 
all belonging to the profession. 

The principal object of these juntas is the perfecting of instruction 
in the colleges. Their powers are similar to those of the royal 
superior governing junta, but all petitions and communications they 
make to government must be forwarded through that one, or if it 
should not transmit them, they can be sent through the Minister of 
Grace and Justice. It is the duty of these juntas to provide for the 
good government of their respective colleges ; to attend to the 
observance of the regulations belonging to them ; to propose or 
nominate to the superior junta the officers wanted in the colleges, 
that they may be appointed by the sovereign ; and to censure or 
suspend any person under them for neglect of duty. 

The juntas also take into consideration any business relative to 
the faculty ; as the appointing of committees for examining papers 
presented by them ; nominating pupils for the clinical halls or 
infirmaries, and admonishing them when necessary; and suspending 
or expelling from the colleges should just cause be given, either 
the house students or those who, though in regular attendance on 
the hospital, do not live in it ; but in the last case the juntas are 
required forthwith to inform the superior junta of the reasons of 
expulsion. At the end of every year they have printed all memoirs 
and papers deserving to be known, and present them to the general 
juntas, which assemble annually. 



ROYAL COLLEGES OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY. 83 

The director has all the honours of the medico-cirujanos of the 
royal chamber ; and he presides at all private and public acts, 
unless a member of the superior junta be present. In this case, 
the latter will take the first seat, though he cannot vote. The 
director can order extraordinary sessions, when he receives notice 
from the government or royal junta, or in certain unforseen and 
urgent cases. As head of the college he can enforce the perform- 
ance of the duties of any individual, correct abuses, call to order, 
impose silence, and cause the observance of due decorum : and 
it is his duty to appoint the substitute to any professor absent 
from sickness or other cause, and to see that the professors 
attend properly to the patients in the clinical halls, and also dili- 
gently instruct the students. 

Of the Professors. — On the 2d of October, should it not be a 
festival, each one of them delivers, in Castiiian, an inaugural pro- 
fessional oration, which is afterwards deposited among the archives. 
Every day, unless it is a festival, during the session or course, 
each professor gives instruction for an hour and a quarter ; taking 
three quarters for lecture, and a half hour, more or less, for ex- 
amination. Their vacations occur at the end of the year, during 
the carnival, &c. 

On Thursday, public literary meetings are held, at which the 
professors attend ; also the students of the three first years, and 
any respectable persons. At these meetings, they discuss various 
literary subjects, read papers, memoirs, and observations of the 
faculty of Spain, or of other countries, and pass judgment upon 
them. Afterwards they discuss administrative and economical 
subjects. The votes are public or private. They are given in an 
inverse order to the seniority of the members ; and the secret votes 
are given by white or black balls. 

The professors without exception assist at the examinations 
which are made at the end of the course, and if the students are 
numerous they divide them into sections of three each. 

No professor can absent himself without the permission of the 
superior junta, save on urgent cases ; and then he must have that 
of the director. 

In all the colleges, save that of Madrid, each director has a 
salary of 18,000 reals* a year, each of the other professors 15,000,f 
and each of the supernumeraries 10,500. J Living being more 
expensive in Madrid, the director there enjoys a salary of 24,000 
reals,§ the other professors receive, each, 18,000, and the three 
supernumeraries 15,000 reals per annum. 

All the professors are entitled to the same honours, privileges, 
and prerogatives, as those granted to the faculty of the Universi- 
ties, and possess likewise certain personal military rights granted 
by the crown. 

Of the Course of Instruction. — This begins the 2d of October, 

* Nine hundred dollars. j- Seven hundred and fifty dollars. 

% Five hundred and twenty-five dollars. § Twelve hundred dollars. 



84 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

and ends the last of June. There are seven courses for the 
medico-cirujanos and three for the surgeon-bleeders. For these 
courses there are, including the director, seven ordinary, and three 
supernumerary professors, or catedraticos. The last fill the places 
of the first when absent from sickness or any other cause. One 
professor teaches anatomy, legal medicine, public hygiene, medical 
police, and the application of bandages, from the third of October 
to the last of June, but instructs in anatomy only for the first five 
months ; in the application of bandages, in March ; and in legal 
medicine, and the remaining branches, in April, May, and June. 
The students of the first year attend the lectures of the first six 
months; those of four and five years standing the lectures of the 
three last months. 

A second professor teaches physiology, private hygiene, general 
pathology, and pathological anatomy. The students of the second 
year attend his lectures, and once more repeat those of the 
first course. Lectures are given on the two first branches for the 
first five months and a half, and on the two last during the last 
three and a half months. A third professor instructs in chemistry, 
materia medica, the art of prescription, and in therapeutics. The 
students of the third year receive his instruction, whilst repeating 
the studies of the second course. The lectures on the three last 
branches are delivered during the first seven months, and those on 
chemistry in the last two months, May and June. 

The fourth professor lectures on external affections, including 
those incident to the army and navy ; on diseases of the bones ; and 
on surgical operations. This professor also delivers lectures in the 
hospital, and performs post mortem examinations. The students 
of the fourth year attend his lectures, and repeat the studies of the 
third year. They are, moreover, required to practice in the pre- 
sence of the professor such operations and dissections as he may 
desire. 

The fifth professor is that of obstetrics, the diseases of women 
and children, and syphilitic complaints. He lectures on these 
subjects from the third of October to the end of April ; and on 
medical history and bibliography in May and June. He also 
delivers clinical lectures, and attends cases of difficult labour, in 
the lying-in wards. In addition to attendance on his lectures his 
students go to those of the professor of practical surgery. 

The sixth professor instructs in the treatment of internal, acute, 
and chronic diseases, including those incident to the army and 
navy; teaches the introduction to the practice of medicine, the 
method of visiting the sick, and the duties of a physician. His 
class repeat the studies of the preceding year, and also attend the 
clinical lectures of the following, or the seventh year. 

The seventh professor lectures on internal clinical affections for 
twelve months, beginning on the first of October. To demon- 
strate the diseases on which he lectures, patients are selected from 
the hospital. He visits them twice a day ; once in the morning, 



ROYAL COLLEGES OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY. £5 

and again in the afternoon. The students make out the history of 
such cases as he designates, and perform the dissections required. 
The students of the seventh year attend the lectures on medical 
history and bibliography, besides performing the above duties. 

The professors of the sixth and seventh year alternate their 
courses, neither one lecturing on the same branches for two years 
in succession. Every one of these seven professors is required to 
make applications of the Hippocratic doctrine, as given in the 
aphorisms and prognostics of the father of medicine. For this 
purpose indexes are made, from which each professor can select 
his parts, and thereby avoid repetition of instruction given by 
others. 

The three supernumerary professors, besides acting as substitutes 
for the regular ones, have particular duties ; one acts as secretary, 
and teaches therapeutics and materia medica to the surgeon- 
bleeders ; the second is librarian, and instructs them in parturition 
and syphilitic diseases ; and the third is anatomical dissector and 
demonstrator, prepares the subjects for the lectures, and likewise 
instructs the surgeon-bleeders in anatomy, physiology, and hygiene. 
All the professors, with the approbation of the junta of the college, 
can fix on the elementary works necessary for the proper instruc- 
tion of their students, and any two of them may exchange duties, 
but this junta must inform the royal one to obtain its approbation. 
When a professorship is vacated, advertisements are made at all 
the colleges and other places announcing the vacancy, and the salary, 
honors, and distinctions of the office to be filled ; and specifying the 
conditions and qualifications required of the candidates for the 
appointment. These notices are given for sixty days before the 
selection of the professor wanted. 

It is indispensable for the candidates to present diplomas of doctors 
in medicine and surgery, or those of doctors in surgery, or in medi- 
cine, obtained at competent schools. Moreover, they must have titles 
of licentiate in the faculties of which they have not taken the degrees 
of doctor, and agree, in case of being appointed to the chair 
vacant, to obtain these degrees before assuming the office. 

The period of advertisement having expired, the candidates meet ; 
and a censorship from the junta of the college is appointed, excluding 
from it any relation of a candidate. The censors having met, the 
candidates present themselves to undergo the necessary exercises, 
which are of four sorts ; first, the production of a Latin discourse on 
any subject chosen by an opponent within twenty-four hours ; 
secondly, a lecture on the disease of some patient in the hospital, 
giving a complete history of the complaint and determining the 
state of the patient ; thirdly, delivering a lecture on anatomy, re- 
specting some point chosen by ballot from two or three subjects, and 
within twenty-four hours afterwards ; and fourthly, undergoing a 
theoretical and practical examination on all the branches of the 
profession. The three best qualified candidates are made known 
to the superior junta, and their names being transmitted to the 

8* 



86 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

queen, she selects the person to receive the appointment and fill 
the vacant professorship. 

Of Exemptions. — A professor after twenty years service can 
retire from office, ajid enjoy for life a pension of one half of his 
salary. If he continues twenty-five years in office he will receive 
two-thirds, and if thirty years in it the whole of his salary. Should 
a professor continue his lectures after any one of these periods, he 
gets an addition of a third part of his retired salary. When one 
is unable to remain on duty for twenty years, after having faithfully 
fulfilled his obligations, he can retire, and also enjoy a pension 
amounting to two-thirds of his salarj^. The secretary of the 
junta of the professors, should he be disabled from serving, can 
retire, and enjoy the honour and salary he before possessed. 

The widows and orphans of deceased professors and adjuncts, 
receive pensions of a third of the salaries of the deceased, 
from the Monte-pio, established for the benefit of the widows and 
orphans of such persons, and which derives its funds in part from 
a discount or tax upon their salaries. In case of the widows marry- 
ing, the children receive the pensions until twenty-five years old. 
When a professor or adjunct leaves neither a wife nor child, 
but a widowed mother, she will receive the pension, provided she 
does not already enjoy another one from government. The decree 
respecting exemptions was made on the twenty-seventh of Novem- 
ber, 1826. I have it before me, but will content myself with merely 
extracting its substance, though on account of its humane provi- 
sions it deserves to be published to the world in its entire form. 

Adjoining, and connected with each college, are a dissecting- 
hall, cabinets for anatomical preparations, for chemical and pharma- 
ceutical apparatuses, &c, designed for instruction, and for surgical 
instruments and machines ; and, finally, there is a library containing 
all modern and ancient, national and foreign works belonging to 
the science of medicine. The dissecting-hall is furnished with a 
fountain, tables, stools, towels, sheets, and the instruments necessary 
for dissection, injections, and preserving preparations. The subjects 
are obtained from the hospitals, the managers of which are required 
to furnish as many of them as are wanted for the lectures, and for 
dissection by the students. 

There is a dissector and two assistants, the latter of whom are 
chosen, by him, the professor of anatomy and three other profes- 
sors, from among the students of from three to six years' standing. 

The dissecting course continues from the first of November to 
the last of March; and the hours of attendance are from eight to 
eleven in the morning, and from three to five in the afternoon. 

To defray the expenses of the hall, each student pays at the com- 
mencement of every course thirty reals vellon, or one dollar and 
fifty cents. 

For the preparation of anatomical parts in wax and other sub- 
stances, a sculptor, assistant, and apprentice, are employed, and 
receive fixed salaries. 



ROYAL COLLEGES OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY. 87 

Of the Students. — They are required to matriculate, and for that 
purpose must send memorials to the director through the secretary, 
accompanied by their baptismal faith, a statement of the correct- 
ness of their habits and morals, and certificates of having been 
instructed in government, grammar, logic, mathematics, experi- 
mental physics, and botany, sufficiently to enable them to receive the 
titles of Bachelors in Philosophy. To prove their being qualified 
for this title, they have to undergo an examination by three judges 
chosen from the professors. Having undergone an examination 
satisfactory to the judges, each student takes the oath exacted on 
such occasions by the secretary, and then is adorned with the 
bonnet by the president. The ceremony performed, he gets a 
diploma, which is signed by the royal junta. With this degree, he 
can matriculate for the study of medicine in all the schools and 
universities. Should a student have received the degree of bache- 
lor in philosophy, in any university or school authorized by it, he 
can matriculate without the examination. Having matriculated, the 
students are exempted from levies and enlistments, being considered 
as members of a faculty necessary to the state, especially in time 
of war. 

Any student can be expelled by the junta of the college for im- 
proper conduct, but not without the approval of the superior junta. 
Every Monday a student of a different course delivers a Latin dis- 
course, to be followed by a discussion. At the conclusion of each 
scholastic year the students undergo an examination by the profes- 
sors to whose classes they belong, and receive the following marks ; 
Reproved, Medium, Good, Excellent. Whoever gets the mark 
reproved, loses the course; and if he have this mark the next year 
is expelled. Every year some of the students going through the 
last course are appointed to deliver Latin dissertations on one of 
three subjects chosen by the junta of the college. The dissertations 
delivered, the authors undergo an examination in Latin or Cas- 
tilian by censors, who determine their merits, and then fix upon 

, the three candidates judged most worthy. From these three, their 
names having been made known, the queen appoints one to receive 
the premium of 15000 reals, or 75 dollars. A portion of the 
students are called internal, from their residing in the hospital 
or infirmaries of the college; they are required to be bachelors, 
and to have attended two courses, but not more, to avoid too fre- 
quent changes. In equality of circumstances, that is in regard to 
good conduct and qualifications, the sons of deceased professors in 
the colleges, or of the faculty of the army, navy, and hospitals, have 
the preference. The number of internal students is proportioned 
to that of patients. For the lying-in department, two students are 
chosen by the professor having it in charge. All the internal students 
are furnished with food at the expense of the institution, and are 

i allowed a uniform. For their washing expenses they receive 40 reals 
a month. To watch over them and see them attend to their duties, 
two assistant professors live either in the college or hospital. These 



88 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

assistants act as substitutes to their principals when absent, are fed 
at the expense of the hospital, and receive, each, 200 dollars 
a year. If the food of the students and assistants should not be 
found by the hospital they are allowed for it five reals a day. 

For the practical instruction of the students all the colleges have 
several clinical wards attached to them, which are kept open, not 
only during the session but the vacations. One ward is for internal, 
two for external diseases ; a fourth for obstetrical cases ; a fifth for 
children under seven years of age ; a sixth for females affected 
with complaints peculiar to the sex. The attending physicians 
have the right to select from the hospital patients for these wards ; 
nor are the managers permitted under any pretext to interfere. 

In the obstetrical ward are six beds, designed alone for women 
in the ninth month of pregnancy. That all knowledge of their 
persons may be prevented they do not give in their names, but are 
known entirely by the numbers of their beds, save to the confessor 
of the hospital, to whom they deliver sealed letters containing their 
names and address, and to be opened only in case of death occur- 
ing. When the patients are well and leave the hospital these letters 
are returned to them sealed. In this hall the students assist by 
turns, two being on duty at a time, and continue their service for 
a week to make way for two more. 

The two assistant professors have charge of all the patients, see 
that all the orders of the professors are executed by the house 
students, receive the patients as they come in, and direct them to 
the proper wards. The assistants alternate their duties, one keeping 
guard daily; and one must always be in the hospital. The students 
are under their control, and are bound to treat them with the 
respect and decorum due to superiors. The assistants attend to the 
giving of medicines to the sick; the students to applying external 
remedies. 

Of the Examinations. — All those who have gone through the 
course of four years in the universities, and two years in the col- 
leges ; or have been one year in a college and one in a hospital ; or 
those who have concluded seven years in a medico-chirurgical college, 
can offer themselves for examination, and for receiving the degree of 
licentiate, physician, or medico- cirujano. 

The person wishing to be examined must produce certificates 
of his matriculation and courses of study, and pay the fee, which 
for a physician is 2500 reals,* and for a medico-cirujano 3000 
reals.f His fee will not be returned if he is rejected. The examina- 
tions of the candidates for a medico-chirurgical degree are of course 
more generalthan those for that of a physician. The former undergo 
first an examination conducted in Latin, concerning the institutes 
of the science of healing ; then he is questioned respecting the disease 
of some patient present, gives a history of the disease, points out 
its actual state, and after retiring a half hour, re-enters, gives its 
causes, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment. Having ended with 

* One hundred and twenty-five dollars. f One hundred and fifty dollars. 



ROYAL COLLEGES OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY. 89 

this subject, he next does the same with respect to a patient suffering 
from an external disease; then performs as many operations upon 
a dead body as the examiners wish, and terminates his examination 
by answering questions on midwifery. 

His examination concluded, the professors give in their votes, 
with white or black balls, and pass or reject the candidate according 
to the plurality of one or the other. As usual elsewhere the black 
balls reject. The examiners appoint for the unsuccessful a time for 
a second trial, which however cannot take place under six months 
after the first rejection ; under a year after the second ; and under 
two years after the third rejection. If the candidate is rejected for 
a third time, he cannot again offer. The rejected, on re-examina- 
tion, pay a fee of seventy reals ; ten of which go to the secretary, 
and sixty to the three examiners. 

After the examination, the passed candidate, or laureate, kneels 
before the president of the junta, and takes the customary oaths in 
front of the cross which is fixed on the table between two lighted 
candles. The president then decorates him with the insignia 
belonging to the degree of licentiate, and reads to him the privi- 
leges and exemptions acquired. The insignia of a licentiate in 
medicine are a black bonnet, and a dress of yellow silk, having its 
borders, buttons, and button-holes, worked with gold thread. For 
a medico-chirurgical licentiate, the insignia are a brown bonnet, 
and a dress of brown satin lined with yellow silk, and having the 
same kind of borders, buttons, and button-holes, as the other. 

The highest degree conferred is one lately established, that of 
doctor of medicine and surgery. The diplomas of those obtaining 
this degree are signed exclusively by the royal superior governing 
junta of medicine and surgery ; but the professors of the colleges 
examine the candidates and confer the degrees, to obtain which it 
is necessary to present a memorial, through the secretary, to the 
college director, and at the same time to present the diploma of 
licentiate. The candidate next selects a patron from the professors 
to deliver a short discourse in his praise, and composes a Latin 
oration on one of the aphorisms of Hippocrates. The day and hour 
for the ceremony of conferring the degree having come, a proces- 
sion is formed at the hall of the junta ; the laureate being adorned 
with his insignia of licentiate ; the patron and the other professors 
dressed in long black gowns ; and the confessors of other colleges, 
and other members of the faculty, placed according to seniority. 
The licentiate having stationed himself on the left, the patron on the 
right of the president, the procession moves on to the amphitheatre, 
where having arrived the patron takes the chair, and the licentiate 
a seat of distinction near him. After a short respite the president, 
rings a small bell, the licentiate salutes him and others in Latin and 
delivers his oration. This ended, the bell is rung again, the patron 
delivers his eulogy in Latin on the licentiate, then asks permission 
of the president to adorn his client with the insignia of doctor, 
and obtaining it, administers the customary oath on the Book of the 



90 



HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 



Evangelists, and on the Cross. The oaths taken, the patron com- 
mands the client to ascend to the chair, and adorns him there with 
the insignia of the degree, explaining the signification of every one. 
They then mutually embrace, and descend from the chair at the 
sound of the bell. The laureate next, beginning with the president, 
embraces every doctor from right to left, and takes his seat. The 
president, ringing the bell, the procession retires to the place from 
which it departed. 

The degree of bachelor, in medicine or surgery, or in both at 
the same time, is conferred on either natives or foreigners upon 
their conforming to the rules established ; such as paying the fees, 
and showing their titles, which if received abroad must have the 
signature of the representative of Spain in the country where they 
were given. The candidates also have to undergo an examination. 

The oaths for the degrees of bachelors in philosophy and medicine, 
or in medicine and surgery together, are the same, only that the 
names are varied, and the insignia of the degrees differ. These 
oaths are so singular, as are likewise those taken at the conferring 
of other degrees, and are attended by so much formality, that it will 
be well for me to repeat and describe the manner of administering 
them, for the amusement if not instruction of the reader. 

Oaths taken by a Bachelor. — The examination concluded, the 
passed candidate,- or laureate, enters the hall where the judges are 
seated, walks' up to the president, and addresses him in Latin to this 
effect. " I beseech you, most worthy president, that you will 
think proper to confer on me the degree of bachelor, in the science 
of healing." The president answers, in Latin : " To your desires I 
most willingly accede, provided you will first take the oaths pre- 
scribed." They both then make the sign of the cross, and perform 
the following dialogue in the same language. " Do you swear 
that you will assert and proclaim, that the blessed Virgin Mary 
was preserved in the first instant of her conception from original 
sin by the merits of her most pure son Jesus Christ?" "I swear," 
answers the laureate. " Do you swear, that you will defend the su- 
preme power of the king and of his crown V " I swear." " Do you 
sw^ear, moreover, that you will not continue in, nor will belong to 
any lodge or secret society, reprobated by the krws ?" " I swear." 
Do you swear, likewise, to help, defend, and instruct no one of 
the impostors, who permit regicide, and tyrannicide, like that 
defined in the Constantian Council, Session the Fifteenth?" "I 
swear." " Do you swear, not to recognize in the least the absurd 
principle, which maintains that the people are the proper arbiters 
to change constituted governments ?" " I swear." Then the presi- 
dent proceeds : " By the authority granted me by the laws, I in- 
stitute you a bachelor in the science of healing ;" and he next puts 
upon the graduate the proper investiture and terminates the ceremony. 

Oaths of a Licentiate. — The candidate having been examined, 
and having asked for the degree of bachelor and received the pre- 
sident's answer, puts his right hand on the Book of the Evangelists, 






ROYAL COLLEGES OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY. 91 

and takes the oaths in Latin, after this manner. The president 
asks him, " Do you confirm whatever oaths you have taken in 
taking the bachelorship in the science of medicine and surgery, or 
in medicine 1" " I confirm." " Do you swear, moreover, by the 
most holy gospel, that you will assist with all care and diligence 
the sick who shall invoke your aid, whether they be rich or poor ; 
and that you will furnish the solaces of your most worthy profes- 
sion to the indigent entirely without reward T" " I swear." " Do 
you swear, that as you have the care of the public health, and that 
of the citizens, that you will contemn all dangers and contagions V 9 
" I swear." " Do you swear, that you will earnestly take care that 
those lying sick with a grievous disease shall make disposition of 
both their spiritual and their temporal affairs V 9 " I swear." " Do 
you swear, moreover, that you will neither assist in an abortion, 
nor in an infanticide ; and that upon infants in the moment of death, 
either before,* or after they are born, you will sprinkle the water 
of baptism V 9 " I swear." " Do you swear, at length, in whatever 
things it is necessary always to preserve secrecy V " I swear," 
again says the graduate ; and the president continues, " If you keep 
your oaths may God help you, but if you do otherwise may he 
inflict the severest penalties." The ceremony after this is the same 
as that observed in conferring the degree of bachelor. 

Mode of conferring the Degree of Doctor. — The laureate and 
patron having concluded their orations, the former says in Latin to 
the president, " I most humbly pray and beseech you, most wise 
president, that you may think fit to confer on me the degree of 
doctor." The president answers, " you are most deserving, and after 
having administered the oaths, we will confer." Then the laureate 
kneels, lays his right hand on the cross, and says, " the oaths 
which I took in the reception of the licentiateship of the medico- 
chirurgical faculty I hold and desire to hold ratified, and I so con- 
firm." The president, the oath being finished, makes the following 
address in Latin, " Since you are plainly qualified in the medico- 
chirurgical science, and have given the required oaths, by the 
authority granted us by the laws, we create you, formerly instituted 
a licentiate, now also a doctor of the medico-chirurgical science, 
as you are most, deserving, and we confer on you all the rights and 
privileges which other doctors enjoy by law and custom, inasmuch 
as there is no difference between their and your learning, so that 
you will everywhere proclaim yourself a doctor, and will enjoy the 
same dignities and privileges as the doctors of all the universities of 
Spain ; and, consequently, we grant to your patron the liberty of 
proclaiming, showing, and decorating you as a doctor in the medico- 
chirurgical science." This said, the laureate rises, and the patron 
says, " Ascend most excellent client to this chair to which wisdom 
calls you." The client having gone up, the patron continues, " and 
since to-day a spouse is given to you, accept the golden ring which 
I is the first seal of this espousal. The ring having been put upon the 
ring-finger of the left hand, the patron proceeds, " And I, your patron, 

* The manner of performing baptism before birth is rather mysterious. 



92 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

professor and doctor in the medico-chirurgical science, and delegated 
by the most illustrious president to proclaim you in this place, do 
publicly declare you, already distinguished by the degree of licentiate 
in medieo-chirurgical science, likewise a doctor of the same faculty, 
most worthy of all the indigencies, privileges, and honours, which | 
by law and custom all other doctors enjoy. In the name of the 
Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost — Amen." He then delivers 
to the client a pair of white gloves, and says, " Doctor of the medico- 
chirurgical profession accept the white gloves by which you may 
be able to handle the books of the healing science ;" at the same 
time he gives him the book of Hippocrates, and says, " Accept the 
book of Hippocrates, by which you may become more learned and 
may know how to teach others." The laureate then seats himself at 
the left hand of the patron, who taking in his right hand a naked 
sword observes, " Accept this sword which we show you as a sign of 
fortitude, and which I deliver to you as an argument to convict errors 
and firmly to defend truth." Next, the patron puts on his head a 
cap with a tassel of the degree, and says to the client, " Accept 
this silk cap, the highest ornament of the healing science, which ; 
is obtained by your merits." Afterwards he delivers to him a stick, 
saying, " Accept the staff, a sign of authority and care over the 
comfort and support of the sick." 

The laureate being adorned with all the insignia of the degree, the 
patron says, at the same time sitting at his left side, " Perfected by 
these marks of honour, wisdom, and authority, sit now in the chair 
and likewise on the throne of your science, upon which I place you 
to the honor of our gymnasium." 

The patron and the doctor having been seated a while, the former 
rises up and says, " Arise, therefore, my client, that you may first 
receive the embraces of your patron." They then embrace on one 
side, and the latter continues, " Behold the odour of my son, it is 
like the odour of a plenteous field, which God has blest."* After 
this has been said they embrace on the other side, and the patron 
continues, " May God be your helper, and may the Omnipotent, 
moreover, bless you with the benedictions of heaven — Amen." 
This concludes the act: both descend from the chair, and the graduate 
embraces all the directors present. 

Of Surgeon-Bleeders and Midwives. — Persons wishing to 
become surgeon-bleeders are required to matriculate in the col- 
leges, and for that purpose they must be able to read, write, work 
the four rules of arithmetic, to add, substract, multiply, and divide, 
must understand the Castilian grammar, make known their faith 
of baptism and purity of blood, and give information respecting 
the correctness of their habits. Having matriculated they go 
through a course of three years' study. During the first year 
they study physiology and hygiene ; during the second they 
repeat the studies of the first year, and study materia medica, 
therapeutics, midwifery, and syphilitic disorders; and during the 
third year repeat the studies of the second, learn the application of 

* "Ecce odor filii mei sicut agri pleni, cui, benedixit dominus." 



ROYAL COLLEGES OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY. 93 

bandages, the performance of operations, and study external affec- 
tions, including those of the bones, and legal surgery with the art 
of making medico-legal declarations. Having passed through three 
courses of study they undergo an examination, but are not permitted 
to do so until they present certificates, that either before or after their 
studies they have practised for three years with a surgeon-bleeder 
or surgeon, in a hospital, or elsewhere. Before examination they 
must make a deposit of 2000 reals, and afterwards pay the fees 
to the examiners and secretary. Having passed the examina- 
tion they take the oaths required of them, which are much the same 
as those taken by the bachelors, save that they are spoken in 
Spanish instead of Latin, and the candidates swear by a cross 
formed with the thumb and forefingers of the secretary and of them- 
selves, that they will defend the mystery of the most pure concep- 
tion of the Virgin Mary. The oaths having been taken the 
secretary confers the titles. The surgeon-bleeders treat diseases 
purely externa], practice such operations as they require, and bleed, 
but are not allowed to prescribe any internal remedy, for when one 
. is required it is their duty to call in a physician or surgeon, save 
in the most urgent cases, and in these only temporarily, and until the 
« services of one or the other can be procured. 

As regards midwives, it is made indispensable for them to go 
through a course of instruction, either of four years in practice with 
some one of the faculty or with an approved midwife, or to have 
practised two years and studied two in some one of the medico- 
chirurgical colleges. The midwives are taught by the supernu- 
merary professor of obstetrics during the month of June. The 
lectures delivered are upon easy and difficult labour ; the functions 
of the sex, those of the foetus, and also the complaints to which they 
are liable. They are instructed likewise in the manner of administer- 
ing the water called the water of succour to infants when they are 
very ill. The midwives are required to undergo a theoretical and 
practical examination after producing certificates of good habits, 
and of their being widows or wives. Having been found qualified 
they receive the titles to practice, after paying a fee of 800 reals. 

Of the diplomas and titles conferred on the graduates, it will be 
sufficient to state, that the former are in Latin and made out in the 
manner common to most nations, and given to bachelors in philo- 
sophy and medicine, and of medicine and surgery, and to doctors in 
the latter sciences; and that titles are given to licentiates in medicine, 
to those in medicine and surgery, to surgeon-bleeders, and to mid- 
wives. In these titles are mentioned the oaths taken, and the various 
authorities are exhorted to take care that the licentiates have all the 
honours, privileges, &c, which they are accustomed to enjoy. 

Of the Funds of the Colleges and Faculty generally. — These 
arise from different grants made by the crown, from the fees 
paid for titles and degrees, matriculation, and certificates ; from 
the money received from the sale of memoirs and other works ; 

9 



94 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

and the sums obtained by taxes, certificates, reports, declarations, 
and other sources. In each college is a finance committee of three, 
who have charge of the funds, and pay from them the expenses of 
the institution. Each professor sends in monthly an account of 
expenses incurred in his course of instruction, which, on its being 
approved by the junta, is repaid. Every three months the colleges 
forward to the royal superior governing junta an account of the 
funds they have in possession, and what money is wanted to pay 
salaries and other expenses. The money wanted by one college 
may be taken from the surplus revenue of another. The funds of 
the colleges being in common with those of the whole faculty, 
may be disposed of as the royal superior junta thinks convenient. 
This is certainly a wise regulation in one respect; since by it all 
medical institutions are connected, supply each other's necessities, 
are mutually dependant, and lend reciprocal assistance. 

Penalties for Practising ivithout the proper Licences. — No one 
is permitted to practise the healing art without having first pre- 
sented to the magistrate of his district the credentials required, 
which are those already mentioned, and which cannot be given 
by any other corporation, college, or tribunal, than those specified. 
All persons who practice without the competent title of physician, 
surgeon, medico-cirujano, surgeon-bleeder, or midwife, incur the 
following fines and penalties : for the first offence, fifty dollars; for 
the second, one hundred dollars, with exile from the place of resi- 
dence, which, if Madrid, or other royal sojourn, must be to the 
distance of ten leagues ; and for the third offence, two hundred 
dollars, and transportation to the prisons of America or of Africa. 
These fines and penalties the magistrates can enforce whether they 
obtain a knowledge of the offences officially or unofficially. An 
omission to do so subjects the magistrates themselves to a similar 
infliction. The midwives are only subject to pecuniary penalties. 

All quacks incur the above penalties for selling specifics and 
nostrums. If any one possesses, in his opinion, a secret remedy 
for any disease, he must report it to the superior junta, that its 
efficacy may be tested ; and if it is found useful it may be made 
known, and the owner receive the reward thought to be de- 
served. Of the fines, a fourth is paid to the informer. The 
remainder is divided into three parts ; of which one goes to the 
royal chamber, one to the judge who exacts the fine, and one to 
the common fund of the faculty. The persons, however, who par- 
ticularly attend to the observance of these laws are the subdele- 
gates appointed by the royal junta. They make known all 
offenders, and bring them to justice, and if they neglect to do so 
suffer themselves. Every three years they send in reports of all 
persons practising the profession, and the names of those who have 
died, removed, and been lately established. They have to put 
down the dates of the titles, with the names of the owners written 
by themselves opposite them. 

There are some other regulations for the government of the 
faculty generally. For instance, the medico-cirujanos of the 



MEDICAL STAFF OF THE SPANISH ARMY. 95 

royal chamber, and of the hospitals, must be graduates of the col- 
leges mentioned, or of others having the same courses of study; 
and they are required to perform the duties of both physicians and 
surgeons, for which they are paid accordingly. No one of them 
however can receive the pay of both physician and surgeon, but 
he may get the three-fourths of the two salaries. 

In equality of circumstances, those holding the degree of doctor 
are preferred to those having that of licentiate. Practitioners of 
medicine, and those of surgery who have studied according to the 
ancient method of instruction, can locate themselves and practice 
to suit their convenience, and as they have been accustomed. 

There are other regulations which might be usefully mentioned ; 
but having already drawn out this account to such an unexpected 
length, I must stop here to avoid the charge of tediousness. I shall 
therefore forego criticisms which might be perhaps properly made : 
leaving to the reader to discover merits or to detect faults, to praise 
or to censure, as he may find occasion. Should he be fond of 
medical politics he will find ample subjects for discussion and 
meditation. 

MEDICAL CORPS OF THE SPANISH NAVY. 

It was my intention to give an account of this corps, but on 
inquiry and investigation I ascertained that it had fallen into a 
state of as much neglect as the navy itself, and that very little 
information worthy of notice could be elicited respecting its pre- 
sent or past condition. The government in 1832 had a book of 
regulations made for the improvement of the corps, which was 
presented to the king for his approval, but owing to some change 
in the ministry it was not approved, and therefore the regulations 
have not taken effect. It appears, however, that all the medical 
officers of the navy are educated at the public expense, and after a 
certain term of active service are allowed to retire and engage in 
private business. Among them are a number who have filled 
professorships at Cadiz, and other places ; and of the former was 
doctor Pedro Maria Gonzalez, a man of distinguished learning 
and abilities. He published in 1805 a work, in my possession, 
upon the Diseases of Seamen ; in which he makes known their 
causes, and the method of treatment, and gives a vast deal of 
useful information respecting the provisions best suited for mariners, 
and the proper manner of preserving them, and also concerning 
nautical hygiene. This work is written in chaste Castilian, is well 
worthy of perusal, and is still one of the most popular books in the 
kingdom. 

THE MEDICAL STAFF OF THE ARMY. 

Improvements in the profession of medicine have not been con- 
fined alone to the civil faculty of Spain; but they have been 



96 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

likewise extended to the military. The regulations for the govern- 
ment of the latter underwent, accordingly, important modifications 
in 1829. Anterior to that time the faculty of the Spanish army 
consisted of both surgeons and physicians, who practised sepa- 
rately ; each one attending exclusively to his own branch ; but at 
present all the faculty of the army are required to be medico- 
cirujanos, save when these are not to be had. 

Formerly the chiefs of the medical staff were the proto-medico- 
general and the cirujano major, the first physician general and 
the surgeon major ; but now there are no such officers, and all 
the authority they possessed has been given to the omnipotent body 
so often mentioned, the royal superior governing junta of medi- 
cine and surgery. Accordingly, this junta has the general govern- 
ment of the military faculty ; is the organ of communication with 
the minister of war, and through him with the crown ; transfers 
the medical officers from one corps of the army to another, and 
recommends all such persons as merit premiums, promotion, 
exemptions, retirement, pensions, and commissions. In time of 
war, upon the recommendation of the junta, an inspector is appointed 
by the government to go through the whole army, to examine the 
condition of the hospitals, and all things relative to the health of 
the different regiments ; to report thereon to the junta, and suggest 
any improvement wanted. 

As soon as war is declared, the junta organizes the medical 
corps intended for service in the field ; advertises for professional 
men needed for filling up vacancies ; makes known what will 
be their duties, rank, salaries, and situations during the war, and 
what they will be after it is concluded. 

Applicants who are medico-cirujanos are preferred before those 
who are simply physicians or surgeons, and the latter are taken in pre- 
ference to surgeon-bleeders who are appointed only in cases of neces- 
sity, and are chosen according to their experience. In case of neces- 
sity a draft or conscription can be made on all the faculty of the 
kingdom ; the whole of them being obliged to serve; but bachelors 
are taken in preference to all others, widowers without children 
next, and then husbands who are childless, the last selected being 
fathers. 

As soon as a choice is made of those wanted, their names are 
forwarded to the minister of war. The appointments are made by 
him with the approval of the sovereign, and are communicated to the 
junta. However, in urgent cases the chiefs of the medical corps can 
make temporary appointments, but must notify the junta thereof. 

In addition to the duties mentioned as belonging to this body, 
it has to keep books called hojas de servicio, or leaves of service; 
in which are written the merits and demerits of the medical staff, 
and other matters relating to it. The junta likewise is required at 
the end of every year to report to the government the promotions, 
deaths, conduct, &c, of every medical officer. It has to attend, also, 
to the requisitions for medicines, instruments, and whatever else may 



MEDICAL STAFF OF THE SPANISH ARMY. 97 

be wanted ; and, in fine, to see that reports are made upon the con- 
dition of every thing belonging to the medical department. 

Next in rank to the junta are the vice-directors, who are also 
required to be medico-cirujanos, and to hold the degree of Doctor. 
The number is in proportion to that of the districts; there being 
one of the former to each of the latter. Accordingly there are six 
directors, there being six districts. The first of these is Arragon, 
Navarre, and the Biscayan Provinces ; the second, Old and New 
Castile; the third, Galicia and the Asturias; the fourth, Estremadura, 
and the kingdoms of Cordova and Seville; the fifth, Valencia, Mur- 
cia, Granada, and Jaen; and the sixth, Catalonia. There is likewise 
a vice-director for the Balearic islands, another for the Canaries, 
a third for Cuba, and others for the rest of the Spanish Territories, 
in both the eastern and western parts of the world. The duties of 
these directors are manifold. They point out the places thought 
beneficial or prejudicial to the health of the armies; ascertain the 
causes of their salubrity or insalubrity ; inspect the instruments and 
medicines ; receive monthly reports of all patients taken under treat- 
ment, and of those who have died, been cured, or remain sick in the 
regiments or hospitals; they order consultations to be held, control 
the meetings of the faculty for the discussion of professional subjects ; 
suspend inferior officers for neglect of duty, report them to the junta; 
and take special charge of the hospitals, by seeing that they are pro- 
vided with every thing necessary for the patients, correcting and 
remedying abuses, and obliging the medical officers who have charge 
of the hospitals to perform their duties punctually. When an epi- 
demic or contagious disease occurs, the vice-director of the dis- 
trict wherein it exists forthwith obtains all the information desirable 
concerning the disease, making known its progress, cause, charac- 
ter, and method of cure, all of which he communicates to the junta. 

The Medico- Cirujanos. — These are of three grades. Before enter- 
ing service they undergo a strict examination by three censors ; present 
certificates of merit, of their ha vino; taken degrees of licentiates in me- 
dicine and surgery, and of not being over forty years old. Besides 
performing the ordinary duties, they attend gratis the families of the 
eorps to which they belong, send reports to the vice-directors con- 
cerning the sick, their diseases and treatment, and state those 
who have been sent to the hospitals, or allowed to resort to mineral 
springs. If any epidemic or contagious disease appear among 
the soldiers they forthwith report it to the commander, and 
suggest the means thought fit for checking it. Many other 
duties are expressly assigned these officers, but it would be super- 
fluous to specify them, and I will only remark that they have to 
attend strictly to all subjects in which the health of the army is 
concerned, as, for example, to the food, water, cleanliness, &c. 

The chiefs of the medical staff in the field are the medico-ciru- 
janos majores ; who are appointed from among persons who have 
served as vice-directors, or others thought fit by the junta. For 
an army of twenty thousand men there are, one medico-cirujana 

9* 



98 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

major ; one adjutant or second, called vice-medico-cirujano major, 
and as many first, second, and third medico-surgeons as may be 
wanted in the opinion of the medico-cirujano major. These sub- 
alterns are distributed among the divisions and brigades. The 
first nominated for a division is the chief of all the rest of the 
faculty belonging to it, and has his orders obeyed accordingly. 
For the hospitals, fixed or moveable, there are some of the second 
professors appointed with several assistants, called practicantes and 
provision ales, who ma}^ be chosen from among civilians or retired 
members of the military faculty. 

Of the Medico-cirujano Major. — As soon as he assumes his office 
he makes out a statement of the medicines, instruments, utensils, 
and all other articles wanted in his department. He makes a dis- 
tribution of the faculty among the divisions, brigades, and hospitals ; 
he remits monthly to the royal junta a duplicate account of all the 
members of his staff, and the persons employed by them ; states their 
residence and occupations ; gives an account of the hospitals and of 
the patients who have entered, been discharged, and died, and of the 
diseases which may have existed, or still exist. He establishes hos- 
pitals, makes regulations for them, appoints the professional attend- 
ants, chooses the secretary and scribes whom he may need for cor- 
respondence, employs the necessary number of practicantes, com- 
monly one for every battalion, and fills up the vacancies which may 
occur. 

The medico-cirujano major resides near the general-in-chief, 
follows him in all his movements, sends a surgeon daily to receive 
general orders, and despatches his second, for accompanying a 
general of division ordered on a separate expedition. He fixes 
upon the sites for hospitals in conjunction with the engineer, and 
chooses the quarters for his patients. In case of being sick his 
second performs his duties. The campaign concluded, he gives 
passports to his subalterns, furnishes them with funds, reports 
upon their conduct, application to duty, and intelligence, to the 
Minister of War through the royal junta, that they may be rewarded 
in proportion to their merits. 

His second, or the vice-medico-cirujano major, besides per- 
forming the duties mentioned, attends the sick officers near him ; 
inspects the hospitals, sees that they are kept in a good condition ; 
that the sick and wounded are properly attended ; the dispensary, 
kitchen, wardrobe, are in good order; and he reports all delinquents, 
whether officers or privates belonging or not to the medical corps. 
In fine, he obeys all orders from his superior the medico-cirujano 
major. 

Duties of the Military Faculty generally. — Every individual, from 
the highest to the lowest professional rank, both in peace and war, 
is obliged to possess instruments for amputation and trepanning, 
and a pocket case. Before taking the place assigned to him, he 
must present himself for inspection to the colonel, or other com- 
mander of the corps to which he is ordered. Unless he thus reports 



MEDICAL STAFF OF THE SPANISH ARMY. 99 

himself he cannot take his post. The directors, inspectors, and com- 
manders of the forces cannot, of themselves, separate and transfer 
any of the professors, but must consult the crown, through the 
junta, for its approval. Should any one of the faculty in time of 
war lose his instruments, and make a satisfactory statement thereof, 
he has them paid for, or replaced at the royal expense. 

The whole corps are bound to recognize the royal junta as its 
chief, and obey all orders from it whether given in writing or ver- 
bally. JXo one can obtain leave of absence over two months, 
without permission from government. For any time under that, 
leave can be given by the military commanders, but a substitute 
must be first obtained from among his companions. At the period 
of any alarm, — sedition, tumult, conflagration, or battle, every 
one must repair to his station, and hold himself in readiness for 
rendering professional assistance. Should any one neglect his 
duty or desert his station he suffers a penalty appropriate to the 
offence. 

In the month of January of every year reports are sent to the 
royal junta of their respective ranks, merits, and services, as shown 
in the " leaves of service," after this manner: — 

" Merits and Services of Doctor or Licentiate. — Vice-director, first, 
second, or third professor of such a district, regiment, battalion, 

hospital, corps, fortress, &c. ; married or single, age ; studied 

in the college of ; during the years ; obtained the de- 
grees in the year ; before beginning his professional career, 

went through the following studies, ; w'as found qualified in 

them, and graduated in the year , in the college of medicine 

and surgery of ; has served in the hospital or battalion, or 

regiment, &c, as professor, during the years, months, ." 

Afterwards are expressed his merits, and whether his services 
were rendered by royal license. At the conclusion are affixed the 
date and the signature of the person. 

Whoever washes to publish a dissertation on a disease, or 
wants to retire on a pension, must apply through a vice-director 
to the junta. By an order of April 6th, 1826, all in active service, 
let their rank be what it may, are obliged to obey without 
excuse, or exception, an order for them to go to any part of the 
royal possessions at home or abroad : for disobedience they incur 
the penalty of dismissal, and the loss of their military honours and 
privileges. All are required to attend consultations about officers, 
their wives or children, either with the faculty of the army, or with 
civilians. Both in time of peace and of war the medical corps are 
bound to observe all the regulations of the army, and obey all 
orders of the colonels, commanders, and generals-in-chief, which 
are not contrary to these professional regulations, do not trench on 
the due exercise of their profession, nor cause them to violate the 
oaths taken in receiving the degrees of licentiates. The vice- 
director being absent, the senior medical officer presides over, directs, 
and commands the rest of the corps in all professional matters. 



100 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

In voyages to various parts of the world, on public occasions, at 
interments, &c, they enjoy the stations, quarters, rations, compen- 
sations, and conveyances of other officers of their rank. No mem- 
ber of the corps can hold two stations at the same time. The hours 
for attendance on the sick are those fixed on by the faculty. For 
the execution of mechanical offices they can have as many assist- 
ants as may be necessary. 

For permission to marry, an application must be made, through 
the vice-director of the respective district, the royal junta, and 
minister of war, to her majesty. In like manner, applications for 
changing stations or classes must be made. 

Before they give certificates relative to the health of the troops, a 
written order from their commanders is required. In case of a 
surgeon* being called on to examine the soundness or unsound- 
ness, fitness or unfitness of recruits, he must note whether they 
come voluntarily or involuntarily, and whether they conceal or 
feign disorders and defects. 

The military faculty certify, and give their opinions respecting 
wounds feigned to have been, or which actually were received in 
the manner specified in the formula adopted in the army; of which 
formula each one must have a copy. They make coroner's inquests, 
and take part in all medico-legal cases, save those pending 
between soldiers and citizens, in which last they are not allowed to 
give certificates without a written order from the military com- 
manders. The invalids are divided by the faculty into the three 
classes, — of absolutely unfit, or unable to perform duty; half inva- 
lids; and persons temporarily unable to serve from some affection, 
the cure of which is probable. The certificates are made out 
according to these classes. 

A recruit found out to be an invalid and an impostor is reported 
to the commander. No certificate can be given to officers without 
a previous order from their chiefs ; nor any be required con- 
cerning wounds, beyond twenty-four hours after the death of the 
individuals. When troops embark, the army and navy surgeons 
attend patients in conjunction. The medical officers of a regi- 
ment go twice a week to the hospitals to examine the patients 
belonging to it, and if necessary to hold consultations upon their 
complaints. 

Superiors can punish inferiors by confinement, under double 
guards, for light offences, but must report serious ones to the vice- 
directors. Every two months the surgeons examine the boys, 
servants, and musicians, to see if they are infected with cutaneous 
diseases, and, if they are, to prevent propagation. 

At general exercise, the medicines, bandages, ligatures, instru- 
ments, &c, used in action are carried along with medical officers to 
their stations. Should any of them be taken prisoners, they neverthe- 
less are promoted as others, unless they forfeit their claims by bad 

* Surgeon, as- the more familiar title to our readers, is introduced in this sec- 
tion in place of that of medico-cirujano., 



MEDICAL STAFF OF THE SPANISH ARMY. 101 

conduct, either professionally or politically. When they remove, 
or change their station, they are required to report to the vice- 
director of the new district ; and at Madrid, they must make known 
their address, the street, house, and quarter, where living; and 
likewise on leaving the city give intelligence accordingly. 

The faculty of the provincial troops, or the militia, are appointed 
in the same manner as the above, abide by the same regulations, 
receive the same salaries, and enjoy the like privileges when under 
arms. In case of a vacancy occurring their inspector generally 
reports it to government. In the performance of their duties they 
obey the orders of the royal junta, and those of both their military 
and professional chiefs. 

Of the Salaries, Allowances, Rank, &c. — The pay of the military 
faculty varies according as it is peace or war, and to their rank and 
location. In time of peace, the vice-directors get fifteen thousand 
reals a-year;* in war, twenty thousand reals.f During peace the 
surgeons receive pay agreeably to the corps to which they are at- 
tached, and stations held, from six to twelve thousand reals. During 
war all those of the first grade get ten thousand, the second eight 
thousand, and the practicantes four thousand reals. The medico- 
cirujanos majores receive a salary of twenty-four thousand realsj 
a-year. 

Besides these salaries they are all allowed rations, lodgings, 
horses, &c, according to their rank, which is as follows : — 

The vice-directors and medico-cirujanos majores, rank with colo- 
nels, the surgeons of the royal guard with lieutenant colonels ; the 
first surgeons of the army with captains, the second with lieuten- 
ants, the third and assistants of hospital surgeons, let them be first 
or second, with sub-lieutenants. The faculty, as other individuals 
of the army, are subject to military jurisdiction, save in matters 
relating to the profession. In these, professional authority is 
paramount. 

Promotion takes place by seniority, from the lowest to the 
highest grade, inclusive, that is from an assistant surgeon of a 
hospital, to a vice-director of a district, save in case of bad con- 
duct, and in appointments for the royal chamber, for which sur- 
geons may be chosen from the directors of colleges, and other 
eminent persons, as the royal junta thinks proper. The order of 
promotions is the following : — 

From assistant surgeons of hospitals they rise to third sur- 
geons of the third battalions of the corps of the army ; from these to 
the second of the same; from these to the first of the same; from 
the first of the army to the third of the royal guard ; from the 
third to the second; from the second to the first of the same; whe- 
ther of the cavalry or the infantry. Into the corps of halberdiers a 
third from the royal guard can enter, and then rise in the manner men- 
tioned. A second of a military college can pass to a third of the army. 

* Seven hundred and fifty dollars. -j- One thousand dollars. 

% Twelve hundred dollars. 



102 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

In the promotions the surgeons of squadrons of artillery, battalions of 
sappers and Swiss regiments, if there be any, are comprehended. 
Those who retire from service are put into two classes — that of Dis- 
persed, and of Fixed Residences ; as in places having castles ; corps of 
veterans, general receptacles of invalids, and military hospitals. 
They who have served twenty years can retire and receive a third 
of the pay of active service: they who have served twenty-five 
years, get two thirds; and such as have been thirty years in 
service the whole of their pay, with the obligation of serving if 
wanted in a hospital, castle, or other place, indicated by the junta. 
A professor who loses his health in service can retire on half-pay, 
or upon a greater annuity if recommended by the junta, provided 
he has served with exactness and integrity. All the retired enjoy 
their wonted privileges and rank, and wear the same uniform. 
Any one, though well, can leave the service at the expiration of 
fifteen years, wear the uniform of his rank, and retain his military 
rights. All who agree to the necessary discounts, receive pensions 
from the monte-pio of surgeons in the army, established in 1803; 
and when they die, their widows and children receive from it the 
same pensions which they had enjoyed. 

Hospitals. — They are of two kinds ; the fixed, and the moveable, 
or what are termed the ambulantes. The former are attended 
alternately and monthly by the faculty of the garrisons, or by that 
of the regiments and battalions. The surgeons of the hospitals 
have under them assistants, practicantes, and nurses, in proportion 
to the duties to be performed. One practicante and two nurses are 
allowed for every forty patients. A practicante who serves for 
three years can undergo an examination as a surgeon-bleeder, and 
as one who has studied in a college for that purpose for three 
years, provided he can procure certificates from the professors of 
his having attended practical lectures, visited the infirmaries, and 
practised dissections. These subalterns keep a constant watch both 
day and night, enjoy military honors only while in service, and 
receive pay at the discretion of the minister of finance, and accord- 
ing to what is laid down in the contracts. 

The first surgeon of a regiment or garrison is ex officio a member 
of the administration of the military hospital, or of that of a civil 
one in which soldiers are treated. 

In Madrid, a member of the junta, or vice-directors of the two 
Castiles, is a member and counsellor of the military hospitals. The 
surgeons of these hospitals can provide at the expense of govern- 
ment whatever is required for the use of their patients, and can 
condemn anything considered unfit to be employed. The first 
surgeons have the control of all persons in the hospitals, but are 
not permitted to treat as subalterns the medical officers of the line, 
who are only subject to the orders of their natural chiefs. 

It is the duty of the assistant surgeons to attend to the giving of 
food and medicines, to pay extra visits, to examine the patients 
entering the hospitals, to keep the instruments in order, to assist 



MINERAL BATHS AND SPRINGS OF SPAIN. 103 

in consultations, to appoint the necessary guards or watches, and 
to do all the duties of the surgeons when they are absent. Patients 
recently discharged are sent, before returning to duty, to the 
wards of convalescence, where they remain until they recover their 
wonted strength. 

The moveable hospitals are fixed at the places thought most 
convenient, as near streams of water in the rear of the army, and 
without the reach of cannon shot ; and are composed of materials 
carried along with the army and in readiness for being put 
together. To each of these hospitals belong a certain number of 
carriages, provided with every thing wanted for the relief and cure 
of the wounded. 

To conclude ; the medical faculty of the Spanish army seem to be 
organized in the most judicious manner, maintain a high degree of 
respectability, and enjoy the good will of the people as well as the 
patronage of the government. 



REGULATIONS RESPECTING THE MINERAL BATHS AND SPRINGS 

OF SPAIN. 

Not the least of the praiseworthy acts of the late king, was that 
for the proper regulation of the mineral baths and springs in his 
kingdom, and for the good government of the faculty, as well as of 
the sick, and the owners and servants, and all other persons who 
may resort to them for any purpose whatever. 

These regulations have been in existence since 1816, but were 
remodelled in 1828, by the royal superior governing junta of 
medicine and surgery ; and having been approved by the king were 
made known and circulated by Calamarde, the president of the 
junta, in the month of October of that year. In February, 1834, 
by another royal order some modifications were made in them, 
and to the junta was assigned the general direction and inspection 
of all the mineral baths and springs in Spain ; but the special direction 
and inspection of them are given to the faculty who have charge 
of their management, and who are termed special directors. These 
are generally medico-cirujanos, the preference being given to them, 
though physicians are appointed if the former are not to be had. 

All persons offering themselves as candidates for the office of 
director are required to undergo a practical examination of their 
professional qualifications, to present dissertations in Spanish upon 
the physical and chemical properties of the water of the establish- 
ment to which they aspire, and also a topographical account of the 
country in which it is situated. 

The examination is held either in a college or hospital, in 
presence of the censors, and at the bedside of some person affected 
with some disease. Of this each candidate has to ascertain and 
make known the precise condition; and having done this he is 
required to give a complete history of the disease, and then to hear 



104 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

the observations of his competitors. The junta appoints the censors 
for the examination, and directs where it is to take place. 

The examination being terminated, the merits of the candidates 
are communicated to the junta, and through it and the minister who 
patronise the names of the three most meritorious are made known 
to the sovereign, who appoints one of the three a director. The 
appointment is immediately made known by the minister to the sub- 
delegate, and by him to the magistrate of the district in which the 
establishment is located, and the owner having been informed of 
the appointment, provides gratis suitable accommodations for the 
director. 

For his services, which are continued during the season for using 
the waters, he receives from government eight thousand reals a-year, 
which are paid from the treasury of estates and taxes. Should 
he become sick or die during the season, the junta appoints 
a provisional substitute, who is paid at the rate of eight thousand 
reals a-year, and receives five days' pay for travelling expenses. Ii 
the director die either within the season, or after it is over, the 
magistrate of the district is required to give instantly notice of it to 
the intendant of the province and the junta, so that the vacancy 
occasioned by the death of the director may be filled. Two 
months before the period of using the water begins, the junta gives 
notice thereof, and takes care that the directors proceed to their 
places of destination before the appointed time, and remain at them 
the whole season, in the performance of their duties. 

The junta also keeps up a correspondence with the directors, 
receives their memoirs, and remits them for examination to any 
academy it may think proper. The academy having examined, 
returns them with their approbation or censure to the junta. Another 
duty of the junta is to make a summary from these memoirs, and 
to publish all the useful and topographical, physical, chemical, and 
medical information they contain. It is likewise required to make 
known to the government the improvements wanted at the different 
watering-places, and the vices prevalent there, with the means of 
correction ; to consult it concerning the transfer of the directors 
from one place to another, and to report to it any director who should 
not fulfil the duties required of him by the regulations. For such 
neglect the director is liable to be mulcted in a part, or the whole, 
of his salary; or, should it be recommended, he is dismissed from 
office without receiving any compensation for his services. After 
all, the most important persons attached to the watering-places 
are the directors. They reside at or near the watering-places ; have 
the general supervision over them, and establish their medical police, 
with which no one, not even a magistrate, has the right to interfere. 
They also daily inspect the baths, fountains, and other things; and 
exact of the patients a verbal or written account of their disor- 
ders, examine them, ascertain their condition, prescribe for them, 
and direct how and when they are to use the waters. For every 
prescription they are entitled to ten reals, except from poor patients, 



MINERAL BATHS AND SPRINGS OF SPAIN. 105 

whom they are bound, notwithstanding, to attend as punctually as 
the wealthy. 

It is, moreover, the duty of the directors to make observations on 
the effects produced by bathing in, or drinking the waters ; to keep 
a diary of important cases ; to note the age, sex, temperament, and 
the previous diseases of their patients ; to ascertain those which 
brought them to the springs, to correspond with them when they 
return home, in order that the good or bad effects of the waters 
may be more certainly known ; to keep an account of all the cases, 
to arrange them in classes, to note the results; to preserve the 
prescriptions given ; to observe barometrical and thermometrical 
changes, and their influence on the sick ; to write the topography 
of the country adjacent the springs — to give its natural and 
medical history, examine the physical and chemical properties of the 
waters ; to attend to the cleanliness, commodiousness, and provisions 
of the establishments ; and, finally, to supervise whatever belongs to 
their medical or moral police. Should they not be able to enforce 
their regulations and maintain order, they can demand the assistance 
of the judge and governor of the territory, and these in no manner 
are excused from giving the necessary aid. If they refuse either 
assistance or protection, they are punished as disobedient to the 
orders of her majesty. It is the duty of the judge or governor, 
to order there the nearest apothecary or pharmaceutist, should 
one be wanting at the establishment, to furnish the medicines 
required by the physician. The value of the medicines is paid by 
the patients. 

When a director gets sick he is bound to obtain a substitute, but 
if his disease should be such as to prevent this, then the civil autho- 
rity most immediate attends to it, and without loss of time in- 
forms the royal junta. For his services the substitute receives the 
pay mentioned, without however any deduction being made from 
that of the director. This pay comes from the tax fund of the 
province. Besides the salary of 8000 reals, the director may receive 
for important and distinguished services any additional compensa- 
tion to which the junta thinks him entitled. For the benefit of the 
widows and children of those deceased, six months' pay is deducted 
from the salary of every director, and deposited in the bank of 
annuities, called the Montepio : all tax-gatherers, intendentes, and 
accountants are forbidden from hindering this fund being used for 
the purpose specified. 

The directors are obliged to obey any order of the junta trans- 
mitted by its secretary concerning epidemics, or relating to any 
other important matters, and to communicate by him to the junta the 
discovery of any new mineral waters in their respective provinces. 

The season of bathing in, or taking the water having ended, 
each director is at liberty to take up his residence where he may think 
fit, but must notify the junta thereof. When his residence has been 
chosen, he is required to make out and transmit to the junta, before 
or by the end of the following December, all his notices and 

10 



106 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

observations, clearly and methodically arranged in one or more 
Memoirs ; at the same time he has to report the condition of the 
fountains, baths, stoves, roads, and edifices belonging to the estab- 
ment under his charge ; to make known any defects, and suggest 
the means of remedy. 

The regulations for the government of the owners, managers, 
major domos, and lessors, of the watering-places are equally as 
strict as the preceding. The owners are not allowed to admit 
any person without a ticket signed by the director. They have 
to obey all his orders relative to the medical police, and to keep the 
baths, fountains, utensils, houses, &c. , in a good condition. If they 
should neglect to make repairs, a tenth part of their profits can be 
appropriated by the directors for that purpose, every year, until 
they are completed. 

The managers, major domos, and lessors, attend likewise to the 
preservation of the establishments, and to the collection from the 
sick of the money due for their lodging, food, baths, and other 
things. The charges are mnde according to a schedule formed at 
the commencement of the season and approved by the proper autho- 
rity. In this schedule is put down the fees due servants for bathing 
and other services, agreeably to the judgment of the director. 

All servants are obliged to attend strictly to the orders of the 
directors respecting the manner of furnishing the water, bathing the 
sick, and other matters. Should they neglect their duty, they 
are reprimanded or dismissed by the directors. The bathers 
attend exclusively to the baths, regulate their temperature, and 
administer them at the hours specified by the director. They, as 
well as all other servants, have to attend on the poor patients with 
as much care as on the wealthy ; and are not allowed for such 
service to make any charge. If there is a hospital or other edifice 
for the reception of the poor, the wages of servants, and their other 
expences, are defrayed at the public charge. The bathers are ap- 
pointed by the directors, and required to read, understand the use 
of the thermometer and to be males or females according to the 
sex of the patients ; but as it is difficult to procure females w r ell 
qualified, the male bathers have the chief direction of the baths, and 
give orders to the former. 

The patients are not exempt from rules and regulations. They 
are enjoined to obey the prescriptions of the directors ; to drink 
the waters ; to take the baths hot or cold, as the directors 
think fit to order, and to pay the fees according to their circum- 
stances, the usages of the places where they are, and to the ser- 
vices rendered. They are especially enjoined to use the waters as 
directed — that their virtues may be more correctly ascertained ; and 
are forbidden to consult physicians not belonging to the establis- 
ments; that is, any others than the directors. Should any other 
of the faculty advise or prescribe for them they will be admon- 
ished for the first offence, and fined for a second one the sum of 
twenty-five ducats: but should the offence be again committed the fine 
is doubled, and the intruders are expelled from the neighbourhood. 



MINERAL BATHS AND SPRINGS OF SPAIN. 107 

Finally, if the springs are situated in the open country, if there 
are no accommodations at them, and the sick have to lodge in the 
adjacent huts, cottages, and other habitations, they are still sub- 
jected to the foregoing regulations. Every person resorting to any 
one of these habitations for the use of the water, must, on the first 
or second day after his arrival, obtain from the director a ticket, 
present it to the proper authority, and procure a permit to continue 
in the place. If the owners of the springs or habitations should 
entertain any person in violation of the above mandate, they will 
severally incur a fine of ten ducats, or of a greater sum in case of 
a repetition of the offence. 

Much can be said in praise of these regulations. They are in many 
respects excellent, and well adapted to attain the objects for which 
they are designed. Notwithstanding they are somewhat objection- 
able ; for they are too arbitrary and despotic, and savor too strongly 
of monarchy to be adopted in this country, the people of which 
would never permit the government to control in such a manner 
their watering-places, where they are much more in the habit of re- 
sorting to for pleasure than to get cured of any disease. They would 
by no means allow thepresident, the governor of a State, or any other 
officer to interfere in the management of these places, and to inflict 
punishment for a violation of the regulations, not only at them but 
in their neighbourhood. 

We must admit, however, that some of these regulations if 
adopted at our watering-places would vastly contribute to the 
comfort, if not to the health of those persons who frequent them. 
How common is it to find the houses at them illy-planned, badly 
kept, and crowded by persons in full health to the exclusion of 
those who are sick ? Do we not see at them the food of bad 
quality and illy-cooked, the servants inattentive, save to those who 
fee them most, the physicians transitory and imperfectly supplied 
with medicines and other things needed by their patients ; and both 
healthy and the sickly using the waters at their own discretion, 
and often with the most serious injury? Are not the infirm fre- 
quently put into the worst apartments, and even deprived of beds 
on account of the most hale and strong? Everv visitor to our 
watering-places must answer some of these queries in the affirma- 
tive: and, besides, he must have witnessed at them the most riotous 
conduct, which not only interfered w r ith the comfort of the healthy — 
but retarded the recovery of the infirm. 

The most commendable part of these regulations, I think, is that 
providing for the benefit of the indigent invalids who resort to the 
mineral waters, and securing them from improper treatment; for 
we know that in this and other countries they are almost excluded 
from their use, and that these waters are in great part monopo- 
lized by the wealthy. This every person must admit to be wrong, 
as poverty is no crime, and the virtues of mineral waters were 
designed by Heaven for the benefit of all mankind, and not for that 
of a small number of persons on whom fortune has smiled, 



108 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 



MINORCA. 

Among the numerous islands distributed through the Mediterra- 
nean, few or none are more worthy of notice than this one. Its size, 
fertility, convenient location between Spain and Italy, and between 
France and her African possessions, and its secure and commodious 
harbours, especially that of Mahon, render it an island of great 
importance to the European powers. Nor is it much less desirable 
to the United States, as it has always been found the most conve- 
nient rendezvous for our squadron. 

Minorca, according to Spanish calculations, lies between latitude 
39° 47', and 40° 41 ' 45" N. ; and between long. 10°9' 20", and 10° 42' 
15" to the east of Cadiz. Its form is an irregular parallelogram, and 
it runs nearly N.W. and S.E. In length it is nearly thirty miles, and 
in breadth from eight to twelve : the latter varying from the 
indentations of the sea. It contains two hundred and thirty-six 
square miles agreeably to common measurement, but probably more 
from its being uniformly hilly and mountainous, and marked by 
deep valleys and hollows. 

The chief mountains are Santa Agata and Mount Toro, the 
latter of which is the highest — being two thousand feet above the 
level of the sea — stands in the centre of the island, may be seen 
from thirty to forty miles, and is known to mariners by its conoidal 
shape, and the convent crowning its summit. There is a difference, 
however, in the form of the northern and southern extremities of 
this island, and between the eastern and western coasts. It is 
more hilly and mountainous at the north end, and as low and 
smooth to the west as it is high and rugged to the east. The last 
named circumstance is very rationally attributed to the eastern 
shore being exposed to the continual violence of the northerly 
winds blowing down the ever boisterous Gulf of Lyons. 

Climate. — Minorca being situated about midway between the 
highest and lowest degree of latitude of the western portion of the 
Mediterranean, possesses a medium temperate, neither having as 
great heat as the one nor as much cold as the other. During the fre- 
quent visits I made to this island in the years 1831, 1832, 1833, 1836, 
1837, and 1838, and which included the period of five hundred and 
three days, the greatest rise of Fahrenheit's thermometer did not 
exceed 84°, nor the greatest depression reach below 42°. The air 
was of the former temperature only three times during the first 
cruise ; that is on the 13th of June 1831, and on August the 10th, and 
September 6th, 1832. During the second cruise the thermometer did 
not attain at any time higher than 83°, and that only once in Sep- 
tember 1837, and again in August 1838. The greatest cold occurred 
on the 2d of January 1833, and in February and March 1837, 
the temperature having varied at the latter periods from 42° to 48° 
for six days in succession, a circumstance never before nor after- 
wards witnessed, and which must be considered altogether unusual. 



MINORCA. 



109 



It is unnecessary for me to give the minutiae of the tempera- 
ture; and I will close my remarks concerning it, by stating, 
that the average temperature of the air in Minorca may be fixed 
at 78° for the summer, at 60° for the winter, and at 69° for the 
spring and autumn. It was liable, however, to great variations 
during the two last seasons, for it will be seen by reference to the 
subjoined summary of my register, that the occurrence of the 
greatest degree of cold and heat was not confined to any particular 
months or seasons, but that the former sometimes happened in the 
spring and the latter in the autumn. Indeed, with regard to cold, 
judging from what it was in March 1832, 1833, and 1837, I 
believe it to be on an average greater in that than in any other 
month, and it may be properly accounted for by the prevalence 
and violence of the northerly winds, particularly of the north- 
easterly, which drive before them at that time deluges of rain, and 
occasionally abundance of hail and snow. For instance, in March, 
1837, w T hen there were more successively cold days than at any 
other time, and the average temperature was lowest, being, as seen 
in the subjoined table 53J°, the wind blue uninterruptedly for six 
days from the north-east, five days at intervals from the same 
direction, and two days from the north. During the same month, 
there were twelve days of rain, one of hail, one of snow ; and 
seven cloudy days. . 

Of the subjoined table, I should mention, that, though the average 
temperature is given by months, I was not in Minorca the whole 
of each month mentioned ; that I was there sometimes at the begin- 
ning, or the middle, or at the last of some of them, and that the 
second number of the fraction generally indicates the number of 
days. In this respect then the table must be considered inaccurate; 
but, nevertheless, from my having been there at some period the 
whole of each month in the year, with a few exceptions, this table 
will afford very nearly a correct knowledge of the subject in con- 
sideration. 



1831. 



1832. 



1833. 







Average 






Average 




temperature. 


1836 




temperature 


June 


» 


80° T 6 3 




July 


1^70 4 
' ' To 


October 


, 


74° T 3 3 




October 


. 59° |- 


November 


■ * 


62°^ 




November . 


• 61°^ 


December 


. 


64°^ 




December 


. 62°^ 








1837 






March . 


, . 


59°A£ 




February 


. 55° 


April . 
May . 
June 


• 


0401 u 

70° 
76°ll 




March . 
April . 
September . 


. 53° i 

' U \22 

74°_1 


August 


. 


79°3 4 r 




October 


• °° 3 1 


September 


, 


11 




November 


. 63°|f 


December 


• 


60° -f 


1838. 


December 


. 6OV3- 


January 
February 
March . 
April . 
October 


- 


WO 4 
oy 3T 

60°_7 9 

58°T 4 t 
73°|# 




April 
August* 
September , 


. G2Vo 
171702 1 
• ''31" 
. 73? 



10' 



110 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

The above is the summary of the two registers kept chiefly by 
myself, and the temperature was taken at noon and in the shade — 
first in the ward-room of the John Adams, near the hatch; 
secondly on the gun-deck of the United States, near the ports. In 
these two places, I think the temperature was commonly nearly 
the same, except when the hatch was closed. Whenever this 
occurred I removed the thermometer to another suitable place, so 
that the temperature was observed as precisely in the same manner as 
was possible. It may be thought that the thermometer being kept 
aboard ship a correct estimate could not have been made, but we 
should recollect that on shore there are always many objects, 
which, by their reflecting the rays of light and heat, cause a varia- 
tion in the result, accordingly as they are put in different places : 
whereas, on water there is always great uniformity in tem- 
perature, there being nothing besides the water to cause reflection. 
Enough being said on this subject, I will proceed to speak of the 
winds. The most common of these are the south-east, south-west, 
west, north-west, and north-east; but the two last are by far the 
most so. The north-east, however, is the most constant, and blows 
longer than any of them. During the last cruise it blew ninety-sis 
days out of the two hundred and sixty which we spent at Port 
Mahon, or more than a third of the time. In the summer this 
wind is mostly accompanied with a clear, blue sky, or a few flying 
clouds, unattended with rain, but at other seasons, more especially 
in the spring, it is often accompanied with rain, and sometimes with 
hail and snow. When this wind comes more from the eastward 
the weather is very damp, and showers fall more frequently. 
This kind of weather is said always to happen either a little after 
or during the holy week. This I have observed myself, and was told 
by one of the oldest and best pilots; and it is a fact of such noto- 
riety, that this wind is called the Jew's wind — el viento de los 
Judios. — When it begins to blow, the people say "losJudios seven" 
— "the Jews are coming," and await with resignation until it has 
expired, the rain ceased, the clouds dispersed, and the heavens 
have resumed their wonted serenity. 

In the autumn the west and north-west wind blow rather more 
regularly than the north-east. In November, 1838, it blew from 
west to north, twenty-six days — and in November, 1837, fourteen 
days directly from the north-west, giving thereby to that month a 
lower temperature than that of the following December. 

With respect to rain, it may be stated that it oftenest occurs 
when the winds are southerly, and is hardly known from May to 
September. As the autumnal equinox approaches, the weather 
becomes cloudy, showers begin to fall, and more commonly at 
night; the sunburnt earth recovers its moisture, vegetation revives, 
rlowers sprout forth, and continue to flourish until the drought of 
the next summer. The rains are rarely constant or very heavy, 
and hardly ever attended by thunder and lightning. Such thunder 
storms as are common in this country during hot weather are 



CLIMATE, ETC. OF MINORCA. HI 

entirely unknown in Minorca at any season, nor have I ever heard 
of a death by lightning in the island. This freedom from the ill 
effects of electricity is attributable to there being few high points 
of land to attract the clouds, which are usually transitory, and are 
soon driven by the winds over the island. How far the great 
scarcity of iron ore tends to this deficit of the electric fluid is a 
question to be decided, though I think it probable that it may in a 
measure have the effect of preventing the display of electric phe- 
nomena. Regarding dews, I will only state that they are neither 
remarkably light nor heavy ; and of the climate, I will merely men- 
tion one more fact, which is, that as long and as often as I have 
been in Minorca, I have never witnessed a fog, and seldom what 
can be properly called a mist; the atmosphere either having been 
clear, or more or less cloudy. 

To come to a conclusion, then : T consider the climate in most 
respects excellent, and although rather enervating from its mild- 
ness, yet, taken altogether, as good as that of most other parts of 
the Mediterranean, or of the surrounding regions. 

Minerals. — This island is singularly destitute of them. Lead, iron, 
and copper, are the only ones which have been found in any quantity, 
and these are so scarce that the mines have never been worked to 
advantage, the products not having been sufficient to defray the 
expenses. Lately, it is said, iron ore has been discovered near the 
centre of the island in abundance, but as yet it has not been manu- 
factured, though from a specimen in my possession it is very pure 
and of the finest quality. A lead mine in the vicinity of Alayor, 
and another in that of Port Mahon, many years ago, yielded enough 
to supply the potters with materials for glazing; at this time, how- 
ever, they are abandoned, and their existence forgotten. 

Geology. — Minorca presents some volcanic remains, the chief of 
which is a blackish grey lava, like that of Mount iEtna, being very 
hard, heavy, and composed of crystals, generally small, and of 
shining fracture. 

The island mainly consists of limestone, which is chiefly second- 
ary; also of slate of various qualities, and a granite stone of a dark 
colour, disposed in strata or in irregular masses, and having many 
fissures dividing it into cuboidal fragments. 

The limestone composes the western, and the slate and granite 
the eastern half of the island. To this circumstance is chiefly owing 
the great difference in thefertilitv of the easternand western sides ; 
the latter being as rich and productive as the former is poor and 
unproductive. The limestone is mostly very soft and sandy, lies a 
few feet beneath the surface of the earth, and is disposed in strata 
of prodigious extent, and often many feet in thickness. When fresh, 
it is of a yellowish-white colour, and so soft that it is easily cut 
with pick and broad axes, but on exposure becomes dark-grey, and 
of considerable hardness, unless it contains an unusual quantity 
of sand, in which case it retains its whiteness, and quickly crumbles 
and dissolves whenever it rains. Of this limestone, troughs, gutters. 



112 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

dripstones and the houses are made, and more cheaply than they 
would he of any other material. For building, it is cut into blocks 
about two feet long, one foot thick, and one broad. These blocks can 
be purchased for forty cents a dozen. This may seem surprizingly 
and incredibly cheap, but will no longer appear so, when it is known 
that a labourer may be had for from ten to twenty cents a day. 

The ordinary method of v quarrying is to remove the earth from 
the rock, cut away with pick axes the upper and softer portions, 
then to cut downwards in vertical lines, split off the blocks horizon- 
tally, and hew them smooth with the broad axe. When it is 
desirable to save the trouble of removing the earth, after making a 
vertical cut they work horizontally, and leave merely enough of the 
rock to serve for pillars of support to the superincumbent earth. 
In this manner mines of vast extent are made, and the great exca- 
vations of Fort Saint Philip, for which so much blood has been 
spilt by the French, English, and Spaniards, were formed. 

In this soft, are found imbedded spherical masses of pure, hard, 
greyish limestone, which is sometimes crystallized. 

The lofty cliffs extending along the western side of the harbour 
of Mahon are principally composed of the former, arranged 
in strata, which present their edges, and are like pieces of cork long 
exposed to the air. Beneath these strata are others, consisting of 
alternate layers of soft, sandy pebbles, with some small rock 
crystals, and of soft, yellow, and red rocks. The pebbles are from 
the size of a black walnut to that of an orange, of a greyish-yellow 
colour, and crumble upon being touched. They are often imbedded 
in the limestone, from which they moulder away on being exposed 
to the weather, leaving their impression behind. The super-struc- 
ture of these cliffs, being heavier and more compact than the parts 
beneath, remain firm, while the latter moulder away, and failing to 
give the necessary and wonted support, occasion immense masses 
of the former to break off, and, tumbling down the precipices, to 
dash every thing from before them. Some years ago, several houses 
on the marina of Mahon w r ere knocked down, and entirely crushed 
in this manner. To prevent similar accidents, walls have been 
built by some persons at the back of their houses to give support 
to the cliffs, which by falling might not only destroy the houses 
beneath them, but those built above and upon the top of the 
cliffs. 

On the eastern side of the harbour, excepting the peninsula on 
which stand the lazaretto, there is no limestone of any description 
to be found but slate, and the granitic stone mentioned, alone are 
to be seen either in loose fragments or extensive beds and rocks, 
disposed in oblique or horizontal strata, or forming confused heaps. 

Rat Rey and Quarantine islands are of similar structure to 
the western side of the harbour, and seem to have once formed 
a .part of it; for their strata of lime stone, &c, precisely cor- 
respond, save in height. Both of these islands, and the harbour 
itself, it is probable, were formed by a tremendous earthquake, which; 



PRODUCTIONS OF MINORCA. 113 

rent the southern extremity of the island in twain, let in the sea, 
and has left them as everlasting monuments of its power. 

Soil. — Great differences exist in the soil of Minorca. That of the 
hills is mostly rocky, dry, and poor ; that of the valleys, alluvial, moist, 
and rich There is likewise a strong contrast between the soil of the 
eastern and western sides of the island ; to which fact, and the cause 
of it, I have already alluded. The soil indeed of the eastern side 
is so bad that it produces only a little wheat or Indian corn, and 
a few dwarf olive trees ; so that this portion of the island is almost 
entirely overgrown with myrtle, has some of its hills covered with 
the cactus opuntia, and is generally too barren to support animal 
or vegetable life. 

On the contrary, the soil of the western side is clayey, mouldy, 
light, and porous on the hills, and altogether so fertile that, with 
little labour or manuring, it produces, abundantly, grain, fruit, and 
vegetables of almost every kind; even the bottom of the quarries 
being used for gardens after the removal of the stone. But never- 
theless there is a difference between the fertility of the hills and 
valleys, the latter being much more productive, especially in fruits 
and vegetables. This is to be accounted for by the washing of 
the soil from the hills, during the rainy seasons. However, this is 
now prevented in a great measure by the erection of terraces, 
which, catching the earth as it washes away, are seen forming plains 
upon the greatest declivities. 

Before quitting geological considerations, I would observe that 
sulphate of lime, stalactites, alabaster, and several other sorts of 
marble, have been found, but in such small quantity that they do not 
deserve detailed notice. 

Botany. — Minorca is much richer in vegetable than in mineral 
productions, and abounds in medicinal and other plants. I can- 
not undertake to* enumerate more than the principal ones, and 
shall divide them into two classes ; exotic and indigenous.* 
Among the exotic medicinal plants are the solarium nigrum and bruto- 
sum, the chenopodium anthehnenticum, the aloes vulgaris,]' cucu- 
mis agrestis, phyiolacca decandra,\ ricinus communis, and capsicum 
annuum. 

All these plants have been imported at different periods; some 
by the natives, others by the English and other foreigners, and are 
found in greater or less quantities, growing either wild or in yards 
and gardens about Mahon. The solanum nigrum is scarce, the sola- 
num brutosum very abundant, being found in every part, but especially 
within and around the lazaretto, where it is seen flourishing winter 
and summer. Mr. Venent, a very aged man, being between eighty 
and ninety years old, formerly apothecary to the military hospital, 
now director of the Miseracordia de Espositos, or foundling hospital, 
informed me that the seeds of this plant were brought from Eng- 
land by an English colonel, as long as sixty years ago ; and having 
been sowed, had become common. This plant grows to the height 

* For a list of most of them, see Cleghorn on Minorca, 

f See Plate II., fig. 5. 

\ See Plate II. , fig. 4, which represents the fruit half grown. 



114 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

of four or five feet, has a woody, branched stem ; large, spiny leaves 
of a dark green colour, and shaped like those of the tomato plant ; and 
bears a bluish purple flower, and a berry from one to two inches in 
circumference. The berry is green, striped, and spotted with white 
when immature ; and yellow when ripe. It is filled with small seed, 
which have narcotic properties. Mr. Venent stated that the children 
of the Miseracordia, not ]ong since having gathered some of the 
berries, and put them in their olio, were subsequently seized with 
delirium, convulsions; and other symptoms of narcotic poisoning. 

The che?iopodium is neither so large nor so powerful as that of 
the United States ; the aloes is not used medicinally ; the cucumis 
agrestis grows chiefly within the lazaretto, and comes to perfec- 
tion, but is not at all, or very little employed, being allowed to grow 
and wither without notice. As for the phytolacca and ricinus they 
are common, but the latter is particularly so, and is raised in suffi- 
cient quantity to supply the island with castor oil. The seeds are 
smaller than those of this country, but yield oil of the best quality, 
it being obtained by cold expression. The phytolacca is not, that I 
know of, included in the materia mcdica of the Minorcan physicians, 
who either do not appreciate, or are not acquainted with its medi- 
cinal virtues. 

The principal indigenous medicinal plants, are the mentha pule- 
gium, viridis, and piperita ; five species of euphorbia, the pistacia 
lentiscus,* leontodon taraxacum, the salvia, malvia, and althaea offici- 
nalis, the famiculum, rhamnus zisyphus, arum maculatum, scilla ma- 
ritima, vinca-per-vinca or pruenga, and many more of less efficacy. 

The mentha pulegium and piperita are scarce; the mentha viridis 
is plentiful only upon the banks of rivulets ; but the euphorbice are 
very abundant. They begin sprouting forth on the hillsides, beneath 
the cliffs, and on other parts in the autumn, and by winter are seen in 
large and thick patches, forming a beautiful yellowish green cover- 
ing with their flowers and foliage. Their stems when broken pour 
forth a copious, milk-white, tenacious juice, which creates irritation 
and burning of the skin when it is applied. The pistacia lentiscus does 
not come to perfection, yielding little or no mastic ; but its berries 
contain a good deal of oil, which is used for lights by some persons. 
This tree grows upon the hills, attains the height of ten or twelve 
feet, has a compound leaf formed of six or eight lanceolate leaflets, 
and bears a red aromatic berrv the size of a buck-shot.f It 
is said to exude its mastic when the weather is very hot, but 
I was unable to procure a specimen either through others or 
by searching for it myself in the middle of September, when the 
weather was as hot as at any other time. That some is pro- 
duced, however, I have no doubt, as I have understood so from the 
best authority, that of Mr. Sintes, apothecary to the squadron, who 
with a thorough knowledge of his business unites extensive botanical 
attainments. 

* See Plate II., fig. 3. f See Plate III , fig. 2. 



PRODUCTIONS OF MINORCA. 115 

The rhamnus zisyphus, ginjola or jujube tree, bears the fruit called 
by the Mi norcans glngols, which is more valuable for their esculent 
than healing properties. This tree is found in the gardens ; has 
spreading, pendulous limbs ; resembles the locust, having thorny 
branches, compound leaves, formed of many leaflets ; and attains the 
heighi of fifteen or sixteen feet. Its fruit when ripe is of a reddish 
brown colour, and about as large as the damson of our country. 
It is slightly cylindrical in shape, has a sweet mucilaginous flavour, 
and contains a single stone. 

The arum maculatum is not common, and is not employed. As 
for the scilla maritima, it is not to be found in some parts of the island, 
and is very abundant in others. Towards the south-east part, near 
the harbour of Cala Taulera, I met with it in every stage of growth, 
and of all sizes, growing among the stones, and upon the sterile, un- 
cultivated grounds. The pruenga bears a blue flower, belongs to the 
class kexandria, and order monagynia, and is recommended for the 
cure of scorbutic affections. Other medicinal plants, as thyme, gar- 
lick, wormwood, colchicum, cicuta, and stramonium, might be men- 
tioned ; but as the first three need no remarks, and I did not meet 
with the last, I will say no more of them, and will proceed to 
speak of plants not medicinal. They, however, are so numerous 
that only some of them will be mentioned. 

In the first place, most of the vegetables found on our tables are 

1 raised in great plenty ; such as celery, parsley, lettuce, radishes, 
parsnips, salsify, turnips, beets, potatoes, squashes, cabbages, cauli- 
flowers, onions, cucumbers, pumpkins, asparagus, artichokes, carrots, 

1 egg-plants, &c. The onions and cauliflowers are uncommonly large, 
and famous for their excellence of flavour. 

With fruit the inhabitants are no less favoured ; and among them 

' are pears, peaches, apples, quinces, pomegranates, citrons, lemons, 

j oranges, figs, apricots, prunes, greengages, mulberries, watermelons, 
muskmelons, cantelopes, and the most delicious cherries ; among 
the dried fruits are filberts, and pistachio nuts ; the pistacia vera being 

1 found growing to perfection in some gardens, but it is exotic, and 
said to have been imported from Tunis. When the first attempt 
was made to raise this tree it produced no fruit, in consequence 

,' of its not being known that it was necessary to plant the male and 

i female together. This being now known and practised, no dif- 

i ficulty is experienced in getting the females to bear fruit, and 
is had in perfection. The trees 1 saw were nearly twenty 
feet high. The male had leaves composed of three leaflets, and 
the female leaves composed of five of them; save occasionally a 
single ovate leaf at the end of a branch. The fruit grows in clusters 
slightly attached to peduncles two or more inches in length, and 
is of a bright red colour. 

Both the olive and wild olive tree are common : but the latter is 

j small, either from neglect, the climate, or the unfitness of the soil. 
Hence, neither olives nor olive oil are plentiful enough even for the 
consumption of the islanders, and they cannot, of course, be exported 

I for foreign consumption. 

In enumerating the fruit I should not omit that of the cactus 



116 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

opuntia, or the prickly pear, a most important one to the poorer 
classes, who consume vast quantities of it, as it is very abundant and 
one of the cheapest articles of food. This plant usually grows along, 
and upon the stone fences, but likewise on craggy, barren hills ; 
either irregularly and spontaneously, or regularly and planted in 
rows, as may be seen upon the eastern side of Port Mahon upon 
the estate of the Golden Farmer. The fruit ripens in August and 
September. It is carried about for sale in panniers placed upon 
mules, and eaten alone or with milk. 

Nor ought I to omit the almond, which is eaten both green and 
dried; nor the bright red and luscious .strawberry, growing wild, 
and enticing the traveller to turn aside and retard his journey ; nor 
the exquisite grapes, both red and white, bearing down the vines and 
props with their weight. 

The red or purple grapes are the largest, singly or collectively; 
but the white are the sweetest and most agreeable to the palate. 
The red is by far the most abundant, and most used for making 
wine. The vintage begins in the middle of September. Then all 
is bustle and animation ; the roads and the streets, are filled with 
droves of mules, loaded with deep, flattened, two-handled tubs, con- 
taining the precious fruit ; the pavements are covered with the 
hulls, and discolored with the purple juice; the air is scented w r ith 
the fumes of the new wine; and the people are seen engaged in 
cleansing and coopering their oft-used barrels and hogsheads. 

The ordinary mode of manufacturing wine is the following: — 

The grapes are thrown into a large, square, plank strainer with 
a grated bottom, and are there crushed, by the naked feet of a man 
who tramples upon them, until they are reduced to a mass. The juice 
having passed through the grate falls into a vessel beneath. From this 
it is removed into another strainer with a bottom of coarse, spear grass, 
laid horizontally; and having passed through it into another vessel, the 
fluid is put into a cask with its head knocked out, and there allowed 
to remain until fermentation has taken place, which is within fifteen 
or twenty days. All the skins, stems, and other impurities, having 
been removed from the surface, the wine is drawn off into another 
cask with its head in, and laid upon its side, and is permitted to com- 
plete the fermentative process. To allow the carbonic acid to escape 
the bung is left open ; but to prevent the acidifying action of the 
atmosphere is covered by a pile of stems. At the end of fifteen 
days, the gas having ceased to form and escape, the bung is per- 
manently closed. Some persons keep it open only ten days, 
then stop it, and bore a gimlet hole near it for the escape of the gas. 
This hole is also closed at the expiration of ten days. Other 
persons, to purify the wine, and make it keep better, before closing the 
bung throw in a few lumps of alum salt. The skins having been 
taken from the strainer, are put into a press and deprived of their 
unexpressed juice by powerful compression made upon them by blocks 
of wood or stone, urged downwards by a large wooden screw 
turned w T ith bars. These are worked by the hands alone, or with 



PRODUCTIONS OF MINORCA. 117 

pulleys and ropes. The last mode of compression is much the 
best ; a single man by means of the pulleys being able to exercise 
as much power as several men using their unassisted strength. 

The presses are generally square, but sometimes round. The 
finest I saw was of the latter form ; its body being made of vertical 
staves with interstices between them : it held about a pipe, and rested 
on a block of stone, with a gutter around it for the expressed juice 
to flow into the receiver beneath. The staves were held together 
by strong hoops of iron, and compression was made by a screw resting 
on a block of stone, and worked by two pulleys and a rope, one 
end of which was tied to a bar or lever, the other coiled around a 
windlass with four handles, and turned by only one person. 

Open casks are mostly used for fermentation, but in one of the 
largest manufactories the juice is put into immense tanks hollowed 
out of the rock on which the house stands, and there retained until 
fermentation is finished. To prevent the juice from being absorbed 
by the rock the tanks are lined with impermeable plaster. After 
fermentation has ceased the wine is drawn out and put into casks. 
To retard the vinous, and prevent the acetous fermentation, the 
mouths of the tanks are closed by conical tin covers placed in 
vessels filled with water, which have leaden pipes at their apices. 
The ends of the pipes being beneath the water, the gas escapes 
slowly through it without permitting the access of the least air into 
the tanks. 

In this manufactory, in order to make sweet white wine the juic 
partly boiled down in a copper vessel before it is fermented. Here, like- 
wise, vinegar was made by pouring water upon the skins and stems. 
and letting them ferment ; and brandy was manufactured by grinding 
the grapes, stems and all, by a mill formed of two horizontal 
! cylinders of fluted wood, allowing the juice to run into a tank beneath, 
and after fermentation subjecting it to distillation. 

Of the cheapness of wine one may judge by the price of 
grapes, which are sold and delivered for six Minorcan reals, or 
sixty cents a quintal, consisting of four arrobes, each of twenty-six 
pounds.* Grapes, then, are worth only a little more than a hair 
cent a-pound. The common price of red wine is five dollars a 
quarter cask ; and that consumed by the lower orders is still cheaper. 
When prepared with care, and it has become old, this wine is quite 
equal to claret, and is much esteemed ; being mild, smooth, and free 
from alcohol, save that formed when it is made. 

Having enumerated the fruits, I might mention still more flowers, 
but will merely state that the rose, lilly, tulip, honeysuckle, jasmin. 
red poppy, hyacinth, daisy, and a variety of geraniums, enamel the 
fields and adorn the gardens. IMor ought I to neglect to state 
that the cactus grandi-flora is in some of the latter stretching forth 
its slender, trebly-fluted branches, and expanding at distant periods 
its magnificent flowers. 

* The Minorcan arrobe has one more pound than the Spanish. 

11 



118 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

Respecting garden trees enough has been said in speaking of their 
fruits, but there are two others also worthy of notice- — the palm, and 
a locust, bearing a yellow, delightfully flagrant flower, and a small 
black legume. The palm bears no dates ; and both trees are scarce. 

Of forest trees not much can be written, as they are not numerous 
in species, and are neither remarkable for abundance nor grandeur. 
On the contrary they are scarce and dwarfish, both the soil and 
climate appearing illy-adapted to their growth. The chief of 
them are the myrtle,* pine, and quercus ilex,] which is valuable for 
its shade, wood, and acorns — the food of the poor in times of 
scarcity and famine. 

The myrtle spreads over the uncultivated land, and is extremely 
useful; its branches serving when dry for heating ovens, and its 
knotted roots supplying an excellent fuel. Moreover, its leaves are 
sweetly odoriferous, and its berries are said to have served for nutri- 
ment at remote periods, when the wretched inhabitants were depri- 
ved of the ordinary articles of sustenance. 

ANIMAL KINGDOM. 

In Minorca there are no beasts of prey, and almost the only 
wild animals are the rabbit and hedge-hog. The domestic ani- 
mals are horses, mules, asses, hogs, sheep, goats and cattle. 
Of these, the mules, asses, and goats, are most numerous. Horses 
are used chiefly for riding, seldom or never for ploughing and 
hauling any kind of vehicle ; for carts, wagons, and carriages, are 
hardly known. I certainly did not meet with a single one of them. 
Asses and mules convey all burdens, and are by much the most 
valuable animals, being hardy, requiring little food, and that of the 
poorest sort. The hogs are of a small breed, but very plump and 
fat, and afford much the finest meat to be had. It is used fresh, or 
made into bacon and sausages, of which the most liked by the 
natives is the sobreassado, vulgarly called soposado. This is a large 
sausage, coloured by saffron, and preserved by drying and high sea- 
soning. Goats are most valuable for their milk, which is more 
drunk than any other, and is likewise made into cheese. The cattle 
are small and lean, and furnish neither good beef nor milk, pasturage 
being scarce and poor. Butter, of course, is both bad and scarce, 
indeed it is often not to be purchased for any price either in town or 
in the country. 

Birds. — These are numerous and of various classes. Among the 
accipitres, are hawks, falcons, and eagles; and among the passerines, 
swallows, thrushes, becaficos, bee-eaters, kingfishers, and larks. Of 
the gallinacea, are the domestic fowls, turkeys, red-legged par- 
tridges, and pigeons. The fowls are famed for their size and excel- 
lence, as well as for the very great size and fineness of their eggs; 
the turkeys are small and well flavoured, though not as good as"our 
own ; the partridges are two or three times larger than the par- 
tridges of this country, but their flesh is dryer, and inferior in flavour. 

* See Plate II., fig. 1. f See Plate II., fig. 2. 



PRODUCTIONS OF MINORCA. 119 

The pigeons are of two kinds, one of small, the other of very large 
size. The squabs of both form a delicious food. Belonging to the 
grallatorice, are found cranes, snipes, woodcocks and rails. The 
woodcocks are of large size, fat, and more savoury than any other 
game ; they make their appearance upon the island in the fall, com- 
monly about the last of October, and continue plentiful until spring, 
when they disappear. Great numbers of them are consumed, not only 
on the island, but also in France ; the steamers which touch there 
laying in as many as can be had, and carrying them to Toulon and 
Marseilles for sale. Since this trade began they have become 
much scarcer and dearer in market; the price being sometimes 
double of what it was anteriorly. 

Of the scansoince, having met with parrots alone, and these being 
imported, I shall say no more of them, and will pass on to the pal- 
mipedes, of which order, in and about the island, are to be found a 
variety of gulls; the domestic, and now and then it is said the wild 
goose, though I saw none ; the tame, and several kinds of wild 
duck, as a brownish-black one, which is of medium dimensions ; and a 
species of teal, very small and extremely expert in diving. The 
wild ducks are not numerous, and are ordinarily shot in pairs upon- 
the harbours, or upon the ponds within the interior. 

I will conclude my observations of the beasts and birds by men- 
tioning, that in the history of Minorca it is stated, that when Gene- 
ral Kane of the British army became its governor, which was 
somewhere near 1715, the island having been stripped of cattle 
and game — goats alone being encountered, and eagles, which 
nested among the rocks — he caused eggs, birds, sheep, and cattle, 
to be brought from France, Italy, and Barbary, and distributing 
them among the labourers and peasants encouraged them to raise 
and perpetuate their species. Since then, they have been plentiful. 

Reptiles. — They are small in number. The frog, terrapin, lizard, 
scorpion, and two species of serpents — the viper and water snake — 
are the only ones, and of these the lizard alone is common. The 
viper and scorpion are said to be poisonous, as elsewhere, but no 
case of death from either of them has come to my knowledge. 

Fish. — There are many kinds of them caught around the island 
and within the harbours, but the water being mostly very deep, and 
no creeks, rivers, nor banks for them to resort to, none, save some 
of the smallest fish, are caught in any quantity, and these only when 
the weather is not too boisterous for their boats, an event of rare 
occurrence, as they are large, strongly built, well manned, and 
constructed like whale boats, being sharp at each end. The best 
and largest fish found in market is what is called sheepshead, 
but differing from ours in being more slender, and having a smaller 
head. The carp; a species of rockfish, of much inferior size to 
ours ; the flounder, sucker, sardinas, and anchovy, are likewise to 
be generally purchased. 

Of the crustacea and the mollusca are found a very small crab, 
the oyster, clam, a craw fish nearly as large as our lobster, several 
species of cockles and snails ; also the pholas dactylus— - datyl or 






120 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

date fish — a small species of conch, covered by a yellowish-red, 
velvet-like membrane, and termed cuerno ; and the squid. All of 
these fish are eaten by the Minorcans, especially by the poor. The 
oyster is of medium size and found encrusting the rocks: it is slightly 
copperish, and more tough than that of the United States. The 
clams afford an excellent soup, and are abundant ; the craw fish, 
well dressed, is almost equal in flavour to the lobster; and as for snails 
and date fish, the former is the food of the indigent, the latter that 
of the wealthy. The snails are found in vast numbers, adhering to 
grass, weeds, bushes, and stones, and clambering up the walls. 
The date fish* holds so prominent a part, is so very highly prized 
By all who have eaten it, and has something so singular in its 
habits and mode of existence, that I may perhaps interest some of 
my readers by speaking of it in full. This fish takes its name from 
its colour and shape resembling, in one and the other, a ripe date. 
It inhabits the limestone rocks, bordering on and submerged 
beneath the sea, and the waters of the coves, bays, and harbours of 
the island, particularly that of Mahon, where the rocks of every 
size from the smallest to the largest are found having their superfi- 
cies, and sometimes nearly their whole substance, honeycombed by 
this animal. Persons who have not examined into its history, and 
have merely seen it when full grown, are apt to believe that it 
grows externally to the rock, or that this has been encrusted 
about it from time immemorial; but this is altogether an error, 
as may be ascertained by any one who will take the trouble. 
The date fish when full grown is usually from two and a half to 
three inches long. It is bivalve, obtuse at one end, sharp and flat- 
tened at the other, has a dark brown membranous head, formed 
for sucking, a small body with four prominences on the belly, and 
a hooked, spear-pointed process, like a tail or proboscis. The body 
rests between two, soft, thick membranes, having their edges tinged 
with brown, and no doubt constituting its branchiae or respiratory 
apparatus. At the back of the animal, close to the hinge, is a 
thick, white, and strong ligament; and when in the rock it has 
several very small, bristle-like, and radiated bands, by which it 
binds itself anteriorly to its cell, from between its two valves. The 
precise attachment of these bands to the fish cannot be ascertained 
from their being always ruptured in breaking the stone and 
forcing open the shell, but it is probable they proceed from the 
process mentioned, as they radiate exactly from towards that part. 
The cellf of the date corresponds with it in shape, not in size ; being 
considerably larger, is smooth, accurately made, runs inwards, 
obliquely or directly, and communicates with the air by an orifice 
about a half inch in length, a quarter in breadth, and compressed 
on the sides, so as to form with the margin the figure of eight.J 
Some of the cells have holes of communication in their parietes — 

* See Plate III., fig. 1. f See Plate III., fig. 2, 2. 

$Se.e Plate III., fig. 3, 3, 



11 




:o 



PRODUCTIONS OF MINORCA. 121 

probably caused by the dates lying too close together; and occa- 
sionally their orifices are in apposition or united — two forming one. 
In what manner these cells are formed is not positively understood, 
though there are strong reasons for believing that they are made by the 
secretion of an acid decomposing the stone, which is a carbonate 
of lime, and not by attrition, or any other mechanical operation. 
In the first place the fish has no teeth, claws, or any other means of 
destroying the stone, save its valves, which however are too thin 
and weak to work in so hard a substance. Secondly, it is not 
possible for the animal to turn itself about and mould the cavity to 
its own form. Thirdly, this operation of excavation is begun at 
too early a period for us to suppose that the date could execute 
such a task ; and fourthly, no fragments of the rock, such as are 
found in substances gnawed and destroyed by worms and other 
animals are to be met with in the cells. It is true that this lime- 
stone is often sandy and soft, but the largest and hardest rocks of 
it I have seen, had been thickly inhabited by dates; and I now 
have a specimen of the crystallized kind as hard as marble. 

What is the nature of the acid formed I have not been able to 
discover, but it seems to be one secreted by the animal itself, and 
which not only serves to form the cell, but likewise to soften or 
decompose the stone for partly nourishing the animal. 

The opinion that this fish has been imbedded in the rock hardly 
deserves comment, for it is disproved by the date being only found 
near the surface ; by its being never seen in that part of the 
rock which rests upon the bottom ; by the cells being larger than the 
dates; by their always having a direct communication with the air 
and water through the orifices mentioned; and invariably having 
the sharp and flattened end of the sheil, which is that next to the 
head, presenting itself immediately to the orifice, thereby showing 
that mere chance could not have arranged the fish with so much 
regularity, and after only one mode. 

In the sides of the cells it is common to find small holes formed 
by a very long, slender worm, with countless feet, a fiat belly, 
a black head, and of a brown color. This worm appears to in- 
habit a coralline shell, encrusting the inside of the cells, and of ser- 
pentine shape, and to subsist by preying upon the dates, whose 
empty shells are sometimes found filled with worms of the same 
species, and a gelatinous substance, forming a nidus for them. 

Covering the rocks, and filling its crevices, are found oysters, crabs, 
barnacles; a soft shell, containing an animal of a reddish color; 
another kind, called in Minorcan upa de cabrit, or goat's nails ; a third 
sort, resembling the first, and termed pichones ; and several species 
of small gelatinous zoophytes, which are probably the food of both 
these shell fish and of the dates. Within the same rock as 
these occupy, and mingled with them, is another shell fish,* 
which inhabits a cell also, of similar construction to the other, and 
appears to be a variety of the date ; but it is much smaller, of a 

* See Plate III., fig. 4, 4. 
11* 



122 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

white or grey colour, shaped like a short, broad, flattened almond ; 
and has upon its body two conical, hollow, processes, placed one 
before the other, and with their bases very close together. Both 
of these cones are undoubtedly concerned in the nutrition of the 
animal. 

At first I supposed, from having found an empty shell of this fish 
in one of the dates, that the latter had first the almond shape, and 
was transformed into that of the date after having attained a cer- 
tain age, but since then I have met with both fish of every age and 
size, and obtained the date of a white color, and as small as a grain 
of barley; to which it had a strong resemblance. I therefore no 
longer entertain this supposition, and am inclined to believe, from 
both fish being inhabitants of the same rock ; from the peculiar 
form of the bodies, there being frequently a number of small date 
fish round the almond shaped ; that the latter are the females. In 
what mode procreation occurs is doubtful ; but it is certain that, if 
these animals are not hermaphrodites, sexual intercourse takes place 
through the apertures, and that the young being produced, leave the 
cells of their parents, and adhering to the stones, commence the 
work of excavation. In what state the young at first exist I could 
not ascertain satisfactorily, but I think, from having found a small 
worm, of still smaller dimensions than the most diminutive date, 
buried in a similar cell on the surface of the stone, that the first 
state of the animal is that of a naked worm, and that it makes its 
primitive impression on the stone, either by gnawing, or by secret- 
ing and applying the peculiar acid before mentioned. The last is 
probably the most correct opinion. 

Having brought this long account to a close, I will proceed to 
consider the class of 

Zoophytes or Radiated Animals. — These are no less numerous 
than the preceding, both in species and numbers. I shall not enter 
into a minute detail of them, but simply speak of some of the most re- 
markable; and first, of the naranja, a polypus which takes its name 
from its being in form and size like an orange, but not from its color, 
which is almost black. It is a simple sack, filled with water, and a 
great number of transparent silk-like'bands passing from side to side, 
and forming a reticular structure. It is incapable of motion, and is 
found lying at the bottom of the water near the shores, apparently 
inanimate, but when cut il contracts and turns the lips of the wound 
inwards. Next to the naranja I will speak of the Union pina,* and 
the morana mansa, or holothuria tremvla of Cuvier.-j- The first is a 
•polypus, and takes its name from its resemblance to a lemon, having 
a similar shape and color. This zoophyte has a brown, rough stem 
or base, by which it adheres to the rocks and other hard substances, 
When full grown it is about the size of the fruit whose name it 
bears, contains numerous cells communicating with two orifices, 
situated in two conical nipple-like processes ; one of which is at its 
upper end, the other about an inch below. It is probable that 
through the upper orifice nourishment is received, and through the 

* These are the Minorean names. f See Plate IV., figs. 1, 2, 3. 



Fur. 5. 



JS?4 . 




Tig. 7. 



- , .* 










'Rosoy. 




•.*..<>& .T.v-^t'.'-.'V-;^."' ■*■ 



.v-^t-.-t-:;. 



Iiimon*' 




^j^fes 















2#* 

Jwfalhuria, Ire mula> 



sBBk - 

• ■ ■ 







PRODUCTIONS OF MINORCA. 123 

lower, excrement is discharged. The colour is yellowish at the 
base, and reddish at the apex. 

The pinda is also a polypus, and is so named from its resembling 
a pine apple, or the cone of a pine tree. It is of an oval shape, 
covered with knots, of a slightly greenish-yellow colour, three or 
four inches long, semitransparent, gelatinous, elastic, contains 
many small and large cells opening into two orifices— one of which 
is at its apex, the other near its middle — and adheres by its base 
to shells, stones, old bottles, and other things thrown into the water. 
The two orifices appear to answer the same purposes as those 
belonging to the limon, and without any doubt are concerned in 
nutrition. Immense quantities of this zoophyte are found; but the only 
use made of it is by the fishermen, who esteem it very highly as a 
bait, and cut it into small pieces for that purpose. 

The holothuria iremula, is like a slender cucumber.* It is of a 
cylindrical shape, tapers a little at each end, is covered with 
conical knots on the back and sides, is of a blackish-brown 
colour, except on the belly, that being white, and consists of a co- 
riacious sack, filled with a single intestine, which terminates in two 
orifices, and contains nothing but water and sand. This zoo- 
phyte, varies from six to twelve inches in length, from three to 
four inches in circumference, and appears perfectly incapable of 
motion, lying seemingly dead at the. bottom of the water, near the 
land. When taken ashore and exposed to the air, or struck, it 
quickly ejects its entrails from the mouth, and expires. 

Besides the above, the only zoophytes I shall mention are the 
medusas, or sea-nettles; the asterias or star-fish; the echini, sea 
urchins, or eggs; and the actinia, or sea-anemones, which alone 
merit particular notice, the others being such as are met with 
in most places. Of the anemones there are two genera, each 
of which has two species. One species of the first genus con- 
sists of a simple membranous sack, from the mouth of which 
radiates numerous tentacula of several inches in length, of a black 
colour, and looking like the spines of a sea egg. The other species 
resembles .the first, except in colour, that being orange, with purplish 
spots, disposed in circles one within the other. The vulgar name 
for them is votiga-vcrda. 

Both species of the second genus are called by the natives rosas, 
or roses, from their being like those flowers; having a corolla, 
usually consisting in appearance of from five to ten petals, but really 
having only one with several indentations, causing the deception. 
They are commonly of delicate yellowish-white or buffcolour, some- 
times alternately white and yellow, and having the streaks radiating 
from the mouth of the sack, each streak covering a petal. Around the 
mouth is a ring of dark brown and short tentacula, proceeding from 
the inside of the sack, and resembling the stamina of a flower, 
disposed in that manner, and growing from the inside of the petals. 

The rosas, especially the first species, are found in great numbers 

* Hence the name of sea-cucumber is given it by some persons. See Plate III, 
fig. 4. 



124 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

in shoal water near the eastern shore of the harbour, but not at all 
times, for when the weather is cloudy, or stormy, or cold, or very 
hot, and when the sun is very brilliant and powerful, as about mid- 
day, they are not to be seen at all, or, if they are, in small numbers. 
From searching for them at the wrong time I have failed in finding 
any. The best time of the day for seeing them I ascertained finally 
was in the afternoon from four to six o'clock, and then in searching 
for them it was necessary to avoid agitating the water, and touching 
them with any thing whatever. For, by neglecting those precautions 
I have caused them instantly to retract their flowers, and hide them- 
selves beneath the sand ; when taken out from this they appear to be 
nothing more than thin, flabby, greyish membranous, conical, and 
lifeless sacks. 

The last of the animal kingdom which I shall notice is the 
sabella, which belongs to the order of annulata, but examined 
carelessly might be taken for a zoophyte. This most singular 
animal is called the clavel* by the Minorcans, the sea-pink by the 
English and Americans, and the pinceau de mer, or sea pencil, or 
brush, by the French. It inhabits a membranous tube, usually nine 
or ten inches long, but sometimes as much as eighteen inches, 
and about two-thirds of an inch round, of a greyish colour, open 
at one end and closed at the other. Through the open end the 
animal protrudes, and by the other is agglutinated and fastened in 
a serpentine manner to the stones, shells, and other things to which 
it adheres. At the former end it is perfectly round ; at the latter is 
flattened. 

The animal itself consists of a body and of a flower, the latter 
being its head in appearance, but really its branchiae. This 
flower is a spiral plume, with three turns when it is protruded and 
expanded, but when retracted and folded is a plume having all its 
feathers, as they may be called, parallel to one another. The feathers 
are attached to a twisted, flattened axis. They vary in length from 
one to two or three inches, being shortest at the apex of the spire, 
and are formed in an inconceivably delicate manner, each feather 
being made of many extremely minute ones, so that tjie closest 
inspection is required to perceive them; and to see that these 
minute, are inserted only on one side of the large feathers. 
When folded the plume is spotted something like a leopard skin ; 
expanded, it presents a beautiful display of orange, white, and 
purple spots, arranged in circles one within the other. The num- 
ber of circles, according to what 1 have observed in many clavels, is 
nine, four of white and five of purple ; with nine more of orange 
intervening, and making eighteen altogether. The white are placed 
together next to the axis, the purple being external and next to 
the circumference of the spire. Every feather is coloured in the 
same manner, having the same colours and the same number of 
spots, so that each turn of the spire has the same number of circles. 

The body resembles that of a leech ; but it is rounder and longer. It 

* See Plate V., fig. 1, 2, 3. 



AGRICULTURE IN MINORCA. 125 

is of a brown colour upon the back, of rather a leaden hue on the 
belly, and is commonly from six to eight inches in length, accord- 
ingly as it is extended or contracted. Its length and size, however, 
are always in proportion to those of the tube. Its back is marked 
by transverse ridges terminating in points upon the sides. Behind 
these points are small orifices forming what I take to be secreting 
glands. By means of the points it is enabled to glide out of or 
into the tube, which it does in such a fashion that the tail is the 
last to leave and the first to enter. 

The belly is smooth, glossy, slightly wrinkled, or marked with trans- 
verse ridges, corresponding with those of the back, and contains a 
single intestine which extends the whole length of the animal, and is 
filled with dark faeces, partly fluid, partly solid. This curious animal 
has neither eyes nor mouth which I could detect, though from my 
being able to push a pin with ease into the belly, from the root or 
end of the axis, it is possible a mouth may exist there. In what 
manner it obtains its food is somewhat dubious, but if no mouth 
exists it must be by absorption through its plume ; and if there is a 
mouth, then it must be obtained by first collecting it upon the 
plume, and afterwards transferring it 1o the mouth. Taken out of 
the water and exposed to the air, the clavel soon leaves its habita- 
tion ; its plume becomes folded, its beautiful colours quickly fade, 
and death ensues. 

The mode in which the tube is made could not be determined : 
but it is, I think, by the secretion and subsequent condensation of a 
gelatinous substance from the surface of the body, or of the glands 
mentioned. The growth of the tube goes on in length and circum- 
ference in a ratio to the size of the animal. 

I could not ascertain the manner in which generation is car- 
ried on, although every means was taken to effect that object ; 
and I was never able to obtain a clavel less than three inches in 
length, notwithstanding I searched at every season of the year, 
and employed others to do the same. Inasmuch, then, as I have no 
facts to advance on this subject, and all that I could say would, 
be theoretical, I will leave it to some more accurate observer for 
elucidation. 

Agriculture. — Although the peninsula itself has been afflicted by 
both foreign and civil wars, Minorca has continued to enjoy tran- 
quillity ever since the last invasion of the English in 1798; and the 
islanders have had both time and opportunity for the cultivation 
and improvement of the soil. Hemp, flax, wheat, barley, Indian 
corn, and the vine, are the chief objects of the farmer's care ; 
and his industry is fully rewarded by abundant crops. Indian 
corn and barley are raised in comparatively small quantities; but 
wheat, I understood, has been of late years so plentiful, that there 
has been not only enough for home consumption but a good deal 
for exportation, to supply the deficiency caused on the peninsula by 
the civil war. During the last year, the crops were particularly 
abundant, so much so, that difficulty was experienced in procuring 



126 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

labourers to gather them. The wages of these persons were vastly 
increased, as much as fifty cents a-day having been paid for a male 
adult; a price considered very exorbitant, and really such when 
we compare it with the wages paid labourers ordinarily. 

Agriculture, however, is still susceptible of improvements. The 
plough is still, as in the days of Cleghorn of the most simple con- 
struction, being nothing more than what we call a shovel plough, 
and light enough to be drawn by a single ox or mule, one or other of 
which is commonly used.* As a matter of course the ploughing is 
superficial and imperfect. Manuring is attended to ; but plaster of 
Paris and clover are not used as in this country for enriching the soil ; 
and it would be surprising how it is made to yield so much as 
it does if it were not for the plentifulness of lime and the excel- 
lence of the climate. 

Hemp and flax are raised in large quantities ; enough of the 
former being made to furnish the island, and to supply cordage to 
foreign vessels. The vine is cultivated in two ways ; that about 
the houses and in the yards is moderately pruned, and permitted 
to throw its branches over frames for forming arbours, while that 
in the gardens and lots on the contrary is closely pruned, and 
merely has its branches supported by cane props. 

In gardening, great use is made of irrigation. Water is obtained 
either from the springs and rivulets, or from wells, and is distri- 
buted by aqueducts made of hollowed blocks of limestone placed 
in apposition and cemented together. Well water is procured by the 
Persian wheel. This consists of a horizontal wheel turned by a 
vertical one, and of a circular chain of earthern jars fastened to 
ropes and twisted rushes, by cords of a tough grass. The hori- 
zontal wheel is on a level with the upper part of the vertical one, 
and is turned by a mule hitched to a pole connected with the axis 
of the wheel. The vertical wheel having cogs on one side is 
revolved by the spokes of the other one, and the jars descending 
in rotation draw up the water which is emptied out of them into a 
trough, from which it flows into a reservoir near the well, and thence, 
after it is sufficiently warm, it is allowed to descend upon the plants. 
To enable the hill sides as well as the valley to derive benefit from 
the irrigation, it is common to have the water drawn considerably 
elevated, by the erection of a wall about the well, and a plat- 
form on the top of this for the wheel and mule. By this means 
the water is sometimes raised fifteen or twenty feet higher, and is 
made to reach parts which otherwise would be left dry. Nothing 
can be more useful, and yet nothing more simple in construction than 
this machine. Except the iron pins on which the axle of the verti- 
cal wheel revolves, there is nothing about it which the farmer can- 
not make himself, and obtain upon his own grounds. The stone 
for the gutters and cistern, the clay for the jars, the wood for the 
wheels, and the rushes for the ropes, can be all procured without 
expense ; and in forming the machinery hardly any other tool than 
an axe is required. 

* These are the only animals commonly used for agricultural purposes. 



DISEASES OF MINORCA. 127 

Diseases. — These are by no means numerous ; and Minorca may 
be considered with some exceptions as singularly free from the 
complaints most destructive of human life. None of the exanthemata 
are common; measles and scarlet fever are rare; small-pox and 
varioloid occasionally prevail, but they appear to be owing to im- 
portation rather than to the existence of the virus among the 
inhabitants. A strong proof of both these propositions is found in 
the fact, that I have never known any of our ships of war to get 
either disease in Minorca, although they are there more than in any 
part of the Mediterranean : they usually contract these diseases 
elsewhere and ride out the quarantine at Port Mahon, where 
the best accommodations for the sick are to be had. 

Plague has been occasionally introduced, but as far as I could 
learn has never been epidemic ; it having been confined to Port 
Mahon, and having originated from vessels which came from 
the Levant. The last time it appeared it is said to have broken out 
in a family at Villa Carlos, who were infected by a chest of 
smuggled clothes. Pulmonic affections of every kind exist, and 
among them consumption holds a conspicuous place ; but they 
are neither so frequent nor so violent as those of colder re- 
gions. Though during the winter and spring the coldness, damp- 
ness, and violent w 7 inds may often give rise to these complaints, 
I would nevertheless as soon recommend a consumptive patient to 
reside in Minorca as in any other part of the Mediterranean of a 
corresponding latitude ; and I would much prefer this island to 
the north of Spain and Italy, or to the south of France, where he 
would be exposed to the chilling blasts of the Alps, Pyrennees, and 
other mountains. 

Dysenteric and other disorders of the alimentary canal prevail, 

but I am not aware that the former does so to such a degree as to 

be called epidemic; and in this respect the climate seems to have 

undergone a material change since Cleghorn lived in Minorca. 

It is true, the crews of the ships to which I belonged while they 

were there suffered from diarrhoea, dysentery, and cholera morbus, 

but this I attributed rather to excesses in eating; fruits and veo-e- 

• 
tables, and to the drinking of certain waters, than to any defect in 

the climate. These affections I have always found prevalent, as 
before mentioned where such excesses were committed, and espe- 
cially when the crew had been long at sea, and living on salt pro- 
visions, with little or no admixture of vegetable matter. Soldiers 
being addicted to these excesses quite as much as sailors, I am 
inclined to believe that the dysenteries mentioned by Cleghorn, 
were rather epidemic among the soldiers than among the islanders, 
xlsiatic cholera, after havingpervaded nearly all Europe, at length 
appeared in this island in the fall of 1834, and having committed con- 
siderable ravages among the poorest and most dissolute of the popula- 
tion itdisappeared, and has not since been seen. Itis believed by many 
to have originated from an infected vessel, which arrived at Port 
Mahon from Sardinia, but facts are wanted to substantiate this 



128 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

belief, and it appears to have been produced here as in other coun- 
tries by some unknown constitution of the atmosphere. 

Hepatitis and splenitis may be very correctly classed among the 
diseasesof Minorca, its climate being so warm, and miasmata abound- 
ing. Ophthalmia, scrofula, and rheumatism, are likewise met with, 
but cannot be reckoned among the complaints to which the inhabi- 
tants are most liable. It is stated that they are peculiarly subject 
to hernia, but from my observation this is principally among the 
labouring class, and especially among the caulkers, who, from the 
bent, posture they assume, and have constantly to keep while 
working, are generally ruptured. Venereal diseases of every species 
are found, but by much the most numerous is gonorrhoea. Genuine 
syphilis is decidedly uncommon, at least such w 7 as the case in the 
ships mentioned, the John Adams and United States. Chancres and 
buboes are often seen, but they are usually of a doubtful character, 
and hardly ever followed by secondary symptoms. What would 
have been the result if left to themselves, of course, is uncertain. 

In speaking of exanthematous affections, I might have stated that 
the domestic red wine is thought to produce a peculiar nettle rash, 
attended with itching and burning. This I believe to be true, but 
this eruption appears chiefly to occur in strangers who have been 
drinking the wine to excess ; although I have heard persons who 
had used it temperately observe, that they could not drink it with- 
out their suffering in this way. 

The diseases which may be with most propriety considered pre- 
valent in Minorca are fevers ; and yet there are only two which 
are very often met with ; viz., the remittent and intermittent fevers. 
Typhus is almost unknown, and yellow fever has only occurred 
now and then at the lazaretto by the arrival in quarantine of 
infected vessels, and that it has been confined exclusively to the 
guards and other persons employed about the establishment. Among 
the former, as I was informed by one who was employed there at the 
time, forty deaths occurred when the disease some years ago was 
introduced by an infected vessel which arrived from Havana, and 
was sent to Port Mahon to be quarantined. 

Remittent, and particularly intermittent fevers, may be called en- 
demical in Minorca. During the summer and fall they both pre- 
vail, but the latter is by far the most generally : and to such an extent 
does it affect the inhabitants, that I was told by an individual of 
veracity, and one well acquainted throughout the island, that he did 
not believe there were ten of the inhabitants who had attained the 
age of forty and had not been affected with this disease. 

The most unhealthy parts, those where the intermittent fever 
abounds, are the borders of the inlets and harbours, of the ponds and 
rivulets, and the valleys with their adjacent eminences. The principal 
of these unhealthy parts are the Albuferas, orlagunes of salt water, 
four miles to the north of Mahon ; the ports of Fornells and Mahon ; 
the two valleys or ravines running to the north-east and north-west 
from the head of the latter harbour ; and the country about Mercadal. 



DISEASES OF MINORCA. 129 

near which are a rivulet and a pond or lagune. The most complete 
hot-bed of the disease, I think, is the former ravine; which is formed 
on one side by hills and on the other by a continuation of the lofty 
precipices on the west side* of the harbour. This ravine winds 
around the town for a mile or more, and being well cultiva- 
ted, producing a most luxuriant growth of vegetables, and being 
kept in a constant state of moisture by a stream of water passing 
through it, and the irrigation from the w 7 ells in the gardens, must 
necessarily be a most fruitful source of miasmata, as is satisfac- 
torily proved by the inhabitants of the suburbs of Mahon which 
overlook and adjoin the ravine being generally afflicted with inter- 
mittent fevers. The stagnation of the stream mentioned, and the 
exuberant growth of aquatic plants upon its banks and surface, indi- 
cate it to be one of the most efficient causes of the insalubrity of the 
ravine ; but it is thought that this is owing in a great measure to the ■ 
large quantities of hemp raised, and which after being cut is placed 
in the stream and at the head of the harbour for rotting. How far 
correct this opinion may be is problematical. We, however, can 
very reasonably allow that hemp in a state of decomposition may 
be as productive of miasmata as any other vegetable substance in 
a like condition. 

That part of Mahon overlooking the head of the harbour, and 
next to the Franciscan convent, is likewise very unhealthy, being 
directly exposed to the miasmata proceeding down the north-east 
ravine and from the head of the harbour, where the two ravines 
unite, and the stream disembogues. The wind blowing so con- 
stantly from the points between north-west and north-east, these ra- 
vines serve as directors to whatever exhalations arise from them ; and 
the inhabitants, as long as the winds continue, must of course be ex- 
posed to an uninterrupted current of pestiferous effluvia. During the 
last autumn the people of this quarter of the town suffered very much, 
and I have been informed that when the latter was in possession of 
the English, and their squadrons made it a place of rendezvous, some 
of the ships having anchored at the head of the harbour between 
it and the arsenal, had their crews so much afflicted with tertian, 
that they were obliged to remove below the town towards the mouth 
of the harbour, or below the point which is on the western side of 
the cove of Calafiguera. 

To miasmata we ought certainly to ascribe the great prevalence of 
intermittents among the Minorcans; but we cannot properly overlook 
other causes, and, above all, the scanty food of the lower classes, 
who live almost entirely upon fruits and vegetables, and even 
have a limited allowance of them. A loaf of bread, a bottle of 
domestic red wine, a few cloves of garlick, a dish of snails, and a 
porridge of pumpkins, celery, lettuce, beans, and other vegetables, 
seasoned with a small piece of meat ; or a mess of boiled rice, 
beasoned with a little curry and a sobreasado sausage, form as 
good a diet as many can get who consider themselves in com- 
fortable circumstances, and who are really so when they are com- 

12 



130 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

pared with many other persons. In what manner the poorer 
class live may be imagined, when I mention that one of them 
informed me that his family, consisting of a wife, a child or two, 
and several relations, cost him only twenty-five cents per day; and 
what is the quality and quantity of food consumed by an individual 
may be calculated from the fact, that a seamstress may be hired for 
a real,* ten cents, or half peseta a day, and that she will, neverthe- 
less, go home to take her meals. Besides the things spoken of 
above, a favourite article of food is cabbage, first boiled and after- 
wards fried with lard. This dish is liked by both rich and poor, and 
is taken for supper just before going to bed. A person of large 
property informed me that his wife was so fond of it that she eat it 
every night at ten o'clock, and preferred it to any delicacy which 
could be given her. Prepared in the manner stated, cabbage is thought 
not only a savory, but a very wholesome article of food. Such may 
be the case with the Minorcans, who have become habituated to its 
use, but it seems to me that by most Americans it would be found 
rather indigestible, at least a bar to sound sleep, and a course of 
night mare and distressing dreams. 

In the treatment of intermittent fever, the sulphate of quinine is 
principally employed, and is administered nearly altogether in pills ; 
but in cases where the stomach is disordered, its use is commonly 
preceded by an emetico-cathartic of a grain of tart, emetic and a 
half ounce of the super tartrate of potash. 

I might go on to speak of the treatment of other diseases, but 
to avoid prolixity I will stop here, and merely remark that the 
Minorcan physicians, being well educated, treat them with skill; 
and in their practice adopt the ancient connected with the modern 
method. The most distinguished of them having been educated in 
Paris chiefly follow the French practice. Physicians of less 
eminence are educated at Barcelona and other places in Spain, 
and differ in their practice accordingly. 

A great portion of the medicines used are imported from Mar- 
seilles, and are vended by no other than regularly educated apothe- 
caries, all of whom are required to have the degrees of licentiate, 
bachelor, and doctor, and to have gone through four years of 
study and four of practice. Their diplomas come from the royal 
superior governing junta of Madrid. In the sale of medicines 
their prices are regulated by government, and each apothecary is 
provided with a table in which all of these are laid down. The last 
table was issued by Ferdinand VII., in 1831, and still serves for the 
purpose designed. The apothecaries, then, being so well qualified 
for their business, and restrained by law, the people are both 
well and cheaply served with all the medicines and other things 
required. They also enjoy, owing to the prohibition of the sale of 
nostrums, panaceas, and other articles of this nature, N remarkable ex- 
emption from the impositions practised in those countries where the 
law exercises no restraint over the apothecary, and he is permitted 
to deal out at any price whatever drugs he thinks fit to prepare 
himself, or to sell for the charlatans by whom he is employed. 

* The Minorcan real is double in value to the Spanish. 



MAHON. 131 



MAHON, AND ITS VICINITY. 

This being the capital, and the only town of importance in the 
island, is entitled particularly to our notice. Omitting, then, to 
take notice of other places, I shall proceed to make some remarks 
of a general kind concerning it, and then to speak at large on sub- 
jects of a professional character. 

Mahon, as is known to the readers of history, was founded by the 
Carthaginian General Mago, the brother of Hannibal, about 200 
years before the Christian era, and hence it was called by the an- 
cients, Portus Magonis, from which by corruption it is now commonly 
termed Port Mahon. It is situated on the western side of the har- 
bour, between the ravine spoken of and the cove, Cala Figuera. 
In front, for its whole length, it has a precipice of about 100 feet 
high, and down this oblique streets have been made to commu- 
nicate with the harbour and that portion of the town built along 
the water's edge, and upon the quay at the foot of the precipice. 

The town is laid offinto streets, mostly crossing each other at right 
angles, and on an average about 30 feet in width. Some are consi- 
derably wider, and others much narrower than this; and all are paved 
with pebbles. The houses are built generally after the English style 
— opening directly into the streets, having yards behind, and no 
courts in the centre, as is the fashion in Spain. Their roofs are, 
with a few exceptions, sharp topped, and covered with brick tiles ; 
their floors are of the same material, and their walls altogether of 
the soft limestone before- mentioned. Exteriorly and interiorly they 
are either whitewashed or painted yellow, blue, or of some other 
colour. Some of the finest private buildings have flat roofs and 
towers on top, and have floors of glazed and painted tiles. Ordi- 
narily they are furnished with the oldest fashioned and plainest 
furniture ; but even the smallest of them, and those belonging to the 
poorest inhabitants, are strikingly clean, even the outer steps 
being nicely whitewashed. None of the public edifices are re- 
markable for beauty, though some of them, as the deserted Con- 
vents of Carmen and St. Francisco, are very extensive, and built in 
the most substantial manner. The Cathedral is a plain, large 
Gothic structure, but has nothing about it particularly remarkable, 
except its organ, which for size, beauty, and the excellence of its 
music, is considered one of the finest in Europe. 

There are two charitable institutions, the Casa de Caridad, or 
House of Charity ; and the Casa de Espositos, or Foundling Hos- 
pital. The former edifice is near the western end of the town, on 
one of the principal streets. It is an ancient building, two stories 
high, is made of stone, has a court, with a corridor to each story, 
and is about 100 feet square. In the first story are the office of 
the superintendent, who is.a friar; and the baths, which are of 
white marble, and placed in recesses formed by partitions made 
within a large apartment. These baths are for the use of the 



132 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

patients, and also for the benefit of such citizens as desire to 
occupy them. The latter are charged a reasonable price for 
bathing. The second story is divided into several small and large 
wards, neither as cleanly nor as well ventilated as desirable. Not 
more than a hundred patients could be well accommodated. This 
institution is supported at the public charge, and is designed for the 
citizens alone, but of late has been used as a Hospital by French 
seamen, who can not be conveniently attended aboard, and to 
whom a residence ashore is desirable. 

The Casa de Espositos is in the same quarter of the town as the 
Casa de Caridad, and is of nearly the same dimensions, but is dif- 
ferently arranged, having been once a private residence. It is three 
stories high, has a small court, and a great many small rooms. 
When I visited it, it contained one hundred and nineteen foundlings ; 
fifty-three boys, and sixty-six girls. The former were below 
engaged in carding wool, the latter above employed in spinning 
yarn, weaving lace, and embroidering black laced veils, a favourite 
occupation of the Mahon ladies. For a certain portion of the day 
the children are employed in school, where they are taught the 
elementary branches of literature. Besides these there are three 
hundred out-door foundlings under the care of nurses, who are 
paid for suckling and taking care of each one, sixteen Minorcan 
reals, or one dollar and sixty cents, per month. The whole cost of 
the institution is four hundred dollars a month, and the sum is paid 
from the public revenue and from the income arising from dona- 
tions and legacies made by different individuals; among whom 
was a young man named G-anallons, a native of the island and a 
midshipman in the English navy, who left his estate to this institu- 
tion. In gratitude to him, his portrait was taken in 1778. It 
represents him in uniform, and now, with that of his brother and 
uncle, the latter of whom was the bishop of Catalonia, and who re- 
ceived that appointment in 1669, and died in 1708, aged sixty-seven 
years, decorates one of the apartments occupied by the females. 

The foundlings leave the house at various ages, according to the 
demands for them from without. The females have the privilege 
of remaining until they are twenty-five years old, and when they 
marry receive a dowry of one hundred dollars. The foundlings 
who become seriously sick are sent for treatment to the Casa de 
Caridad. When any person is desirous of leaving a foundling he 
goes by night to a window upon the street, kept closed by a shutter, 
and marked torno de espositos or foundling ivlieel. The shutter 
having been struck, it is opened from within by an attendant, and 
the child having been deposited in the outer compartment of the 
wheel, which is fixed within the window, is rotated into its future 
habitation and consigned to a nurse. 

Besides these hospitals there is another, formerly the Naval, but of 
late years, having been used both by seamen and soldiers, has 
acquired the name of the Military Hospital. It stands upon the 
island of Rey, which is in the centre of the harbour, and a half 
mile below the town. This island, according to the tradition of the 



CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS OF MAHON. 133 

country, was called Rey, from Don Alonzo the Third, King of 
Arragon, having disembarked upon it in 1287, when he came to 
conquer Minorca. It is from half a mile to a mile in circumference, 
from forty to fifty feet in height, and composed almost entirely of 
rock disposed in strata, and, as stated, corresponding with those of 
the western side of the harbour. Being immediately in the centre 
of the harbour, a mile from its entrance, the same from its head, 
and half way between the opposite shores ; moreover, being pre- 
cisely between the two best anchorages, this island affords as fine 
a site for a marine hospital as could be desired, and accordingly 
was chosen for such at a remote period. The first hospital must 
have been erected a considerable time before the last century, as 
Sir John Jennings, who commanded the English fleet in the Medi- 
terranean in 1711, pulled it down and erected another in its place, 
which is said to have cost 3600/, sterling. In 1773 a third one 
was begun, and finished in 1776, at an expense of 520,000 reals, or 
52,000 dollars. Since that period it appears to have been again 
rebuilt, or materially repaired, as Sir William Burnett, the present 
surgeon-general, has the credit of having had it made as it now 
stands. This hospital is constructed of stone ; is two stories high, 
three hundred feet long, sixty feet wide, has two wings extending 
backward one hundred feet, and about forty feet in width, and a 
corridor to each story, extending from the end of one wing along 
the back of the main building to the end of the other wing. These 
corridors have arches which rests upon square columns. 

The roof and floors are of brick tiles, and made after the ordi- 
nary mode. On the summit of the former, and in the middle of 
the main building, is a handsome cupola, and at the end of each 
wing an iron balcony communicating by a door with the second 
story. The whole edifice is divided into rooms and wards of con- 
venient size, and having their doors and windows chiefly looking 
into the corridors, by means of which all the apartments com- 
municate with one another. Five hundred patients might be con- 
veniently accommodated in them, but not as many as might have 
been had they been made larger, and not so much space had been 
lost by the numerous partitions. 

In front of the hospital is a spacious kitchen, which although 
convenient is out of place, and spoils the appearance of the edifice 
from the west, by obstructing the view, hiding the entrance, and 
occupying the ground which should have been appropriated to a 
portico. 

Between the wings in the court are three covered wells, or 
cisterns ; and a little farther back, in a line with the wings, two 
buildings designed for the medical and other officers of the establish- 
ment. At the back of these buildings is a store house, one story 
high, and extending almost the whole length of the island on that side. 

This hospital, after remaining many years unoccupied, and being 
seriously injured by neglect, has been let to the French, who make 
use of it as a depository for ship stores, and the coal brought to 

12* 



134 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

Minorca for the steamers plying from France to x\lgiers ; but who do 
not occupy it at all as a hospital; so that it is really a great shame 
that a building so admirably suited from its location and structure 
for invalids of every kind, should be appropriated to a purpose 
altogether different from that for which it was designed. It would 
have been much better for it to have been rented by the United 
States, and used as a hospital for our seamen, who when sick have 
generally been obliged to pine away in the illy-ventilated quarters 
of our men-of-war, until death has ended their sufferings, or the 
vessels have returned home. 



LAZARETTO. 

This establishment is by far the most extensive and important 
of the kind belonging to Spain ; and is not excelled by any in the 
Mediterranean. It is an object of admiration to all strangers, 
more worthy of attention than any thing I saw in the Island ; and 
may be justly called an honour to the nation to which it belongs. 
To describe it will be the least eulogy which such a monument 
of humanity and civilization deserves. 

This Lazaretto* was founded in the year 1794, and designed by 
a captain of engineers, Don Francisco Fernandez de Angulo, who 
did not live to see the work completed. He was succeeded by Don 
Pauli, another engineer, who, proving a defaulter to government, 
was removed. The construction was then undertaken by Don 
Manuel Pueyo, a lieutenant-colonel of engineers, but the English 
having gained possession of the island in 1798, it was discontinued; 
and the place occupied as a barracks by the soldiers, until June 
1802, when the island was given up to the Spaniards. The con- 
struction was then renewed, and continued under the direction of 
Don Juan Jose de Cusans, also a lieutenant-colonel of engineers, 
until it attained its present condition, which is incomplete, and 
falls short of the original design ; I suppose in consequence of 
pecuniary embarrassments and the internal disorders of Spain. 

This establishment is situated on a rocky peninsula, and between 
a deep, narrow cove, called pest harbour, or Cala Taulera, and the 
eastern side of the entrance of the harbour of Mahon. To the south- 
east of the peninsula and Cala Taulera, is the Mola, a lofty pre- 
cipitous promontory ; and to the south-east, on the other side of the 
entrance of the harbour are Georgetown, or Vila Carlos, and Fort 
St. Philip, which is mostly in ruins, having been blown up when 
the English last retired from the island, the Spaniards looking upon 
it as too convenient and dangerous a stronghold for an enemy. 

The lazaretto covers almost the whole peninsula, being 480 
yards in length, and 265 yards in breadth, but from the irregularity 
of the latter>is not symmetrical, and of no decided shape. Asnearly 
as I can calculate, it occupies tw r enty-nVe acres of ground, and its 

* See Plate VI. 




/VQffTJ S? 



LAZARETTO OF MAHON. 135 

highest part is fifty feet above the level of the sea. The whole estab- 
lishment except the corral, or place for cattle and other animals in qua- 
rantine, is surrounded by a double wall, varying in height a little, 
but averaging about twenty-five feet. These walls, as well as those 
of all the buildings embraced within them are constructed of lime- 
stone, procured from the peninsula and quarries of St. Philip. The 
walls are sharp at top, wide at the bottom, formed of euboidal blocks 
I cemented together, and are from fifteen to seventeen yards apart, 
leaving an avenue between them, which contains the porters' lodges, 
and is divided into several sections by partition walls. There are 
four principal gates ; one on the northern, a second on the southern, a 
third on the eastern, and a fourth in the western side of the outer 
walls. The ground enclosed by these is divided into seven distinct 
quarters, furnished also with walls of equal height to the outer ones, 
with the exception of one — the corral, whose w r alls are lower on 
three sides, from its not being necessary to have them as high to 
confine quadrupeds as bipeds. 

One quarter is used exclusively for a cemetery ; another is the 
I corral ; the third and fourth are occupied by the almacenes, or store 
houses ? and the three quarters remaining contain the infirmaries, 
observatory, chapel, oratories, the residence of the alcayde, the 
houses for passengers, and the gardens. These three quarters are 
variously subdivided. The first one has three triangular divi- 
sions, in each of which is an infirmary ; the second one four 
quadrilateral lots, separated by four wide avenues, and containing 
the alcayde's residence, two houses for passengers, an infirmary, 
and an oratory; and the third quarter consists of a house for pas- 
sengers, one infirmary and one oratory, and several smaller buildings, 
enclosed within three lots of an equal size. One of these three lots 
is cultivated as a garden, and has within it only two small buildings, 
but was intended to contain the houses of all persons belonging to 
the lazaretto, having a clean patent; that is, those of the alcayde, 
servants, workmen, and others. These buildings not having been 
erected, the alcayde occupies a house designed for passengers in 
quarantine. 

The observatory stands at the junction of the four avenues just 
mentioned. It has a yard formed by. walls cutting off a part of each 
avenue; and is a handsome building resting upon an arch supported 
by four columns, and having a cistern beneath. Above is a lofty 
tower rising from i* s terraced roof, which from its summit commands 
a fine prospect of the sea, harbours, and island. The almacenes 
are eleven in number ; three are contained within one enclosure and 
eight within another; seven of them are large, and four small. The 
former stand near the centre, the latter upon the sides of the enclo- 
sures. All are of stone, and covered with fluted brick tiles. The 
largest are formed of arches, closed by Venetian blinds to permit 
ventilation; and from one to two stories high, about 50 feet w T ide, 
and 150 feet long. Between these buildings are rows of stone 
benches for spreading out and airing their contents when occasion 
requires. 



136 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

The infirmaries are five in number ; but the two last spoken of, 
being divided into four parts by walls which have been raised across 
both their front and back yards, so as to cut off communication 
between their ends, may be said to be seven. All of them are one 
story high, and are in separate lots. They have receding porticos 
in front, are covered with tile, and paved with brick, and have their 
windows secured by grates. They are divided into rooms of com- 
fortable size, partly supplied with fire places, and communicating 
through the porticos alone. The kitchens are small buildings, 
standing either in front of or behind the infirmaries, and within 
the same enclosures. The four last named infirmaries are situated 
near the oratories, which, having doors opening into the yards of 
the former, the sick who are well enough can enter the latter and 
attend divine worship. The oratories are between these infirma- 
ries, and at the distance of from one hundred and fifty to two hundred 
feet apart. They are two in number. They are semicircular ; have 
their convexities towards the infirmaries, their concavities fronting 
each other; are one story high; built of the same materials as the 
other edifices ; and are divided into a number of rooms lighted by 
iron grated windows, which look towards the chapel. This latter is 
situated precisely in the centre of the space between the two orato- 
ries, and is a small round edifice, surrounded by steps, having a dome 
surmounted by a cross, and walls so completely occupied by win- 
dows, that whatever is done at the altar may be seen by those in the 
oratories, or in the avenues running towards the chapel, or in the 
garden which encircles this building. 

Including the alcayd's residence there are four houses for pas- 
sengers ; each one of which is in a distinct lot, and has around it a 
wall of the usualheight. All of them are two stories high. Three 

so o 

of them are forty feet wide, one hundred and twenty feet long, 
and divided into chambers, parlours, and kitchens. There are two 
chambers to each parlour, and communicating with it ; and every 
parlour has a fire-place. The kitchens are all in the first story, and 
are constructed for burning charcoal alone. In order to keep their 
occupants distinct, half of the rooms open into one yard, and half 
into the other, and those on one side of the house do not communi- 
cate with those of the other side. To render non-communica- 
tion more complete the yards are separated by walls, built at the 
ends of the houses, between these and the walls enclosing the lots. 
The fourth house for passengers is a handsome edifice, situated 
in a lot of corresponding dimensions, and containing nearly three 
acres. This edifice* is two hundred and twenty-five feet long, 
fifty wide ; has two wings running backwards for sixty-two feet ; 
and a corridor to each story looking into the court. Its internal 
arrangements are similar to those of the other buildings, but dif- 
fers from their's, in having all the apartments opening into the 
corridors, and the upper communicating with the lower story by 

* See Plate VII, 




1 



*0 = 

££ 

O e 

HI 



LAZARETTO OF MAHON. 137 

three flights of steps ; one in the middle and one at each end of the 
building. There are twelve parlours, twenty-four chambers, and 
three kitchens in the second story ; but in the first story the chambers 
are wanted, and other apartments are substituted. 

Take it altogether this is a delightful building for either the sick or 
the well, and is as comfortable a place of residence as can be 
reasonably desired by the traveller during his irksome and tedious 
quarantine. 

These houses are designed for persons in health, but are also in- 
habited by the infirm, if they are not infected with a contagious dis- 
ease. To add still more to their comforts there is a well of good 
water in every yard. Besides the buildings described, are the lava- 
deros, or wash-houses ; the sahumerios, or smoke-houses, in which the 
quarantined are fumigated; the porter's lodges; and other buildings, 
among which are the watch-towers, built along the inner wall, and 
overlooking the establishment. 

Of the cemetery and corral I will only remark that the former 
is at the northern, and the latter at the southern extremity of the 
lazaretto, and that both are extensive — the cemetery containing 
nearly two, and the corral almost four acres. 

To conclude the description of this admirable establishment, I 
may observe that, being divided and subdivided into so many parts 
by its walls, it is quite a labyrinth; and thew r alls being so high and 
strong it maybe used as a prison* or a fortress. But, nevertheless, 
it is a pleasant abode both in winter and summer ; being warm 
during the former and cool during the latter season. In summer, 
vegetation being shielded from the ardent rays of the sun by the 
great height of the walls, and in winter being protected by them 
from the chilling blasts of the northerly winds, is always verdant, 
and wears the freshness of spring. In the coldest weather the 
grass covers the avenues, yards, and lots, with a coat of the richest 
green ; and daisies and other flowers are seen enameling every 
part. 

Here, likewise, throughout the year are found flourishing and grow- 
ing spontaneously a number of medicinal plants, as the solanum bru- 
tosum, the squirting cucumber and taraxacum ; and in the surround- 
ing waters are seen the sea-egg, squid, starfish, clavel, and a great 
variety of other curious animals. If then any physician or naturalist 
should unfortunately be confined in this place he can never be 
in want of subjects for observation, but will always have suffi- 
cient to prevent ennui, and even to amuse himself until he is set 
at liberty. 

Regulations of the Lazaretto. — As Port Mahon is the place to 
which every vessel, arriving at any port in the kingdom, must resort 
for riding out her quarantine, unless it is to be of very short 

E duration, its lazaretto laws include those in force not only in 
Minorca but in all Spain. The regulations were made by 

* It has been in part used for a prison since the civil war began ; culprits 
having been sent there from the peninsula. 



I 



138 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

the supreme junta of health, at Madrid, and having been ap- 
proved by the late king are carried into effect by the junta of 
Port Mahon. This junta consists of the governor of the island, two 
jurors, one consulting physician, and nine other members, including 
the secretary. It recognizes the authority of the royal junta, and 
transmits to it every fifteen days an account of all occurrences 
relative to the public health which take place in the island, and 
which have come to their knowledge. The meetings are held weekly, 
and the members perform duty in rotation, each one attending to it 
for a week at a time. Some of the principal members are excused 
from duty ; as the governor, who is the president ; the captain of the 
port; and the commandant of customs. 

The junta of Port Mahon has deputations throughout Minorca 
excepting in Ciudadela, which has a deputation appointed by the 
royal junta at the recommendation of the captain-general of the 
Balearic Islands. 

The physician of the junta is chosen from the most eminent of the 
faculty: he assists at every meeting, gives the professional informa- 
tion required, attends at the lazaretto when it is necessary, inspects 
those quarantined, consults with the physician of the lazaretto, and 
communicates to the junta all important intelligence received from 
the latter. 

Officers of the Lazaretto. — These are the alcayde, his lieutenant, 
the physician, the surgeon, and the chaplain. At this time the 
alcayde is Ramondo Orfila, a nephew of the famous toxicologist. 
He has the management of the institution, and has authority over 
all persons within its limits. He has charge of the keys of every 
art, and preserves good order and harmony. When a merchant 
vessel arrives he is required to go alongside of her, and receive from 
the master on oath a correct answer to the following inquiries : — 
What is his name ? To what nation does he belong 1 What is the 
name of the vessel 1 Her tonnage ? The number of persons 
aboard? Her cargo? Its consignee? Her port of departure 
originally ? And the day of sailing? If at said port and in the vi- 
cinity perfect health was enjoyed? Or, on the contrary, if there were 
any contagious diseases, or any suspected of being such ? If 
during the passage there were any sick — if any person died ? What 
were the diseases ? If she stopped at any intervening port ; landed 
or took aboard any persons; or if she communicated with any 
other vessel at sea ? The alcayde having asked these, and other 
questions he thinks fit, demands the bill of health, the manifests of 
the cargo, the certificates of the Spanish consul and other docu- 
ments, all which he transmits to the junta of Mahon. With men- 
of-war they are more lenient, asking fewer questions, and only 
requiring the captain, or his representative, and the surgeon to 
affirm that they will answer with truth to the questions proposed. 
The answers are noted down and transmitted to the board. If 
no quarantine is required the vessel despatches a boat to the health 
office for pratique, otherwise she hoists a yellow flag at her fore- 
mast and remains at the anchorage appointed for her, which is 



LAZARETTO OF MAHON. 



139 



either in the port or in pest harbour. The ordinary anchorage is 
in the former, near Quarantine Island, a small one, on which is a 
large building for the accommodation of persons, and the store 
houses for the cargoes and other effects. As long as a vessel is in 
quarantine one or more guards, called sanidads by English and 
Americans, from their wearing the word sanidad in front of their 
hats, remain on board. In men-of-war there are alwavs an extra 
number of them, that there may be enough to go in all the 
boats which may leave them. The guards are appointed by the 
alcayde, who, in addition to the duties mentioned, has many more ; 
such as seeing to the discharge of the cargoes, the purification 
of the vessels, and the making out of wills for persons about dying. 
If it is required for maintaining order he can command the 
assistance of an armed force. 

At this time the physician of the lazaretto is Dr. Hernandez, 
formerly of the royal army. He resides in Mahon, and goes down 
whenever his services are wanted. All the sick in quarantine, 
except those belonging to men-of-war, are entirely under his control, 
and those likewise are subject to his inspection, especially if affected 
with contagious disorders. No person whatever is allowed to be 
interred until he has examined the corpse. 

For an assistant, Dr Hernandez has a surgeon, who resides in 
the lazaretto, and attends to all business in his absence. 

The chaplain is a catholic priest. He likewise lives in the laza- 
retto, performs mass, delivers exhortations, attends to parochial 
duties generally, and takes charge of the chapel and all its furniture. 
To the sick who wish it, or for whom it is ordered by the physician, 
he administers the sacrament, but with such precautions as the 
former thinks should be observed. 

Of the porters, sanidads, and servants, I will only remark that 
they vary in number accordingly as they are wanted. 



Table of the Charges for Vessels and Merchandize at the Lazaretto. 

For Spanish vessels of 
From 






1 


to 


20 tons 


. . 


. 


$0 70 cts. 


21 


55 


40 


>> 




. 


. 80 „ 


41 


55 


60 


?j • 


. 


. 


. 90 „ 


61 


55 


80 


j? 




. 


1 00 „ 


81 


55 


100 


>» ■ 


. 


, 


1 10 „ 


101 


55 


120 


55 




. 


1 20 „ 


121 


55 


140 


55 


, . 


. 


1 30 „ 


141 


55 


160 


55 




. 


1 40 „ 


161 


55 


180 


55 


i . 


. 


1 50 „ 


181 


55 


200 


55 






1 70 „ 


201 


55 


250 


55 « 


• 


. 


1 90 „ 


251 


55 





55 




. 


2 10 „ 



Besides these charges, infected vessels pay for all extraordinary 
expenses they occasion ; and foreign vessels pay always a fourth 
part more than national ones. 



140 



HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 



Charges for Foreign Vessels. 

For frigates, brigs, schooners, polacres, and 

other square rigged vessels . . 
For pingues and tartans with lattine sails, 
For javegues and barges, 
For javegas, laudes, and other small barks, 

Those vessels neither lading nor unlading pay only one half of 
these charges ; but all vessels are subjected to Spanish measure- 
ment to ascertain their tonnage. 

Charges for Patents of Health, 



$ 9 60 cts. 
4 80 „ 
2 40 „ 
80 „ 



For vessels of 








From 1 


to 


25 tons . 


$ 30 cts. 


26 


?> 


55 „ 


40 „ 


56 


if 


75 „ . 


60 „ 


76 


5> 


100 „ . 


80 „ 


101 


>J 


,, . . • 


. 1 00 „ 



For bills of health all vessels are charged the same price ; that is, 
two Spanish reals, or ten cents. The cargoes of national vessels 
thought to be susceptible of contagion, according to their manifest, 
are charged one-fourth of one per cent., and the cargoes of foreign 
vessels pay a half per cent. If the master or owner of the vessel 
should not. know the value of the cargo, it is appraised by persons 
appointed for that purpose by the board of health. 



The following is a list of the persons 
lazaretto, and of the salaries they receive ; 
The consulting physician of the junta, 
A secretary, „ „ 

The deputy of health, in the Health Office, 
The deputy of health at Georgetown, 
The master of the diligence boat, 
Two mariners of the same each, 
The guard at the Health Office, 



employed out of the 



$ 275 
200 
350 
200 
165 
110 
200 






The Persons employed within the Lazaretto, are 

The alcayde, at $ 500 

ieutenant, 



His 

The physician, 

The surgeon, . 

The chaplain, . 

Two porters, each, 

Three guards, . 
, Twelve supernumerary guards, who when they ar 
are allowed, each, two dollars per month. The 



350 

500 
330 
330 
200 
650 
e unemployed 
members of 



the junta," treasurer, and accountant of the treasury, receive 



QUARANTINE AT MAHON. 141 

one per cent, of all the money collected. Of the sanidads, or guards, 
put aboard vessels, I will further observe, that they are supported at 
their expense, and are paid fifty cents a day. This being high wages 
in Minorca, some believe that there are always more persons em- 
ployed as sanidads than are wanted, and that especial care is taken 
to put more than the proper complement on board the vessels, and 
particularly men-of-war, which afford superior lodgings and pro- 
visions. 

Quarantine. — Agreeably to the rules of the lazaretto, no vessel 
is considered to be strictly in quarantine until all the moveable 
articles thought to be infected are purified and taken out of 
her. Vessels are divided into several classes, as the infected, unin- 
fected, the suspected and unsuspected, according to their condition, 
the state of their crews, and the health of the places from which 
they come, or at which they touch on their passage. All those 
sent away from the coast of Spain to ride out their quarantine ; those 
which come from any infected port, or which have had any person 
on board affected by, or one who has died of a contagious disease 
during their passage, are reported to be infected, and to have foul pa- 
tents. In this class likewise are included those coming from any part 
of Turkey, from the Archipelago, Levant, the eastern part of Africa 
as far west as Tripoli, and from the Black Sea; whether they bring 
foul or clean bills of health, have been sickly or healthy, and have 
>. cargoes susceptible or unsusceptible of contagion. Vessels from 
any of the places mentioned are obliged to undergo a quarantine of 
at least twenty days, it matters not whether there is, or has been any 
sickness aboard ; whether any of the crew have died of a contagious 
or non-contagious complaint, or what number of days they have 
been coming. A vessel having had five days' passage, is quarantined 
just as long as one which has had thirty; an absurdity not com- 
mitted by even the Turks, Syrians, or Egyptians, who, deduct the 
days of passage, and count from the time of sailing. 

Vessels, except in the case above mentioned, from the coast 

, of Spain and from Gibraltar are considered to have clean patents, 

and are not quarantined. Those from the United States are 

also admitted into pratique, in most instances; but those from 

any part of America where the yellow fever exists exotically 

or indigenously, that is, from between the mouth of the Oronoco 

and the Bahama channel, are considered to be infected ; and 

whether the disease is prevailing or not at the place of departure they 

are considered to be suspected. Under this head are likewise put 

vessels arriving from the Canary Islands between the first of May 

,and the last of November, those from the southern parts of the 

\\ Atlantic from the middle of May to the middle of November, and 

those coming from any quarter of the Mediterranean and the 

Adriatic between June and the middle of October. For vessels 

| suspected there is a quarantine of eight days, or more if it be neces- 

' sary, unless they be from the coast of Spain and Gibraltar, which, 

although an English port, is excepted, because of its unlimited in- 

13 



142 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

tercourse with Spain. Vessels from Veglia, from the ports of 
Dalmatia, as far down as Ragusa ; from the adjacent islands, including 
the Ionian; from Oran, and all the ports of the Barbary States as 
far east as Tripoli, are deemed only suspected, provided they 
bring patents of health, signed by the Spanish consuls ; but if they do 
not they are considered to be infected. Finally, every vessel which 
has come from any port on the globe, where the inhabitants at the 
time of sailing were suffering from any pestilential or contagious 
disorder, are quarantined, even after its extinction, until the supreme 
junta has declared the place to be in a state of health. 

Purifications. — The vexations of quarantine are nothing in com- 
parison with those of the system of purification practised for ex- 
pelling all contagious and infectious matter from the vessels, their 
crews, cargo, and whatever else they contain thought susceptible 
of infection. Vessels of unclean patent, and decidedly infected, are 
sent into Pest Harbour, and there are unladen, have all their scuttles 
and hatches opened, are washed within and without day after 
day, and fumigated every four days with a mixture of muriatic 
acid, oxide of manganese, and muriate of soda, after the following 
proportions : 

For Vessels of Muriatic acid. Manganese. Muriate of Soda. 

From 1 to 50 tons . 3 oz. . H oz. . 2f oz. 

50 to 100 „. 8 . 2* . 7i 

101 to 200 „ . 9 .3 , 8* 

201 to 400 „ . 11 .31 . 1H 

Moreover the sails are immersed in sea water for 24 hours and 
then dried, and the same is sometimes done to the clothes of the 
crew and passengers. If the vessel's cargo should consist in great 
part of things thought susceptible of infection, and if she should have 
lost by disease any of her crew or other person at the port of departure, 
or on her passage, she is alternately washed and fumigated for six 
days in succession. The clothes of the deceased are, also, first im- 
mersed for three or four hours and afterwards exposed to fumigation, 
and the vessel is quarantined five days longer; but if the disease of 
which the person died should be suspected to have been contagious, 
an additional term often days is made, and the quarantine ex- 
tended to forty days. 

After purification, articles unsusceptible can be taken aboard, but 
those susceptible of infection, as bales of cotton, flax, hemp, and 
wool, are conveyed to the store-houses, thrown upon the benches 
between them, and are then untied, have their coverings perforated 
by hooks, and are rummaged by the hands of the cleansers. After- 
wards they are exposed to the air for fifteen days, and turned over 
from side to side to be completely freed of all infectious matter. 
Goods in bales or boxes suffer a like treatment, grain of every 
kind is passed through troughs or gutters : and all jars, and other 
things containing articles deemed susceptible of contagion, are 
emptied in order to be purified, and also, if required to be perforated 
with hooks, which appear to be thought the true and infallible tests 



PURIFICATION OF VESSELS AT MAHON. 143 

of whatever is good or bad. Wax being considered exceedingly 
susceptible of the dreaded poisons is first steeped in water, and 
then exposed to the air. This is sometimes done to any thing else 
to which water is not deemed injurious, and as, whether it is so 
or not must be decided by the officers of the lazaretto and puri- 
fiers, we can readily believe that great damage is occasionally done 
to the goods thus treated. 

As for the crew and passengers, they are fumigated either aboard 
or in the sahamerios every ten days ; and wo to the unfortunate 
wretches affected with asthma, or any other complaint of the res- 
piratory apparatus. If they are not suffocated, they are at least 
made to suffer the pangs of death and the torments of the ac- 
cursed. 

These purifications being performed, and a third of the quaran- 
tine having expired, the vessel can be removed from Pest Harbour 
to Quarantine Island, and there remain until pratique is obtained. 
Vessels of suspected patent have to remain the whole time, except- 
ing perhaps a day or two before communication at the island, and 
undergo purification in a modified manner, but sufficiently vexa- 
tious. All letters, newspapers, and documents are even worse 
treated than goods; being cut, perforated, stripped of their envelopes, 
fumigated, immersed in vinegar, and exposed to the air according 
to circumstances. After being thus maltreated they are most care- 
fully delivered to their owners by being inserted in the split ends of 
sticks or held out by tongs of prodigious length, so that it is utterly 
impossible for the owner to be infected by his letters or packages, 
or by those who deliver them, and also quite as impracticable in 
some cases for their contents to be read. 

The shipwrecked are subject to the same regulations as other ves- 
sels ; their cargoes and crews being quarantined, and in every 
respect treated as those of vessels in port. After being purified, and 
the quarantine has expired, all goods and other effects are delivered 
to the subdelegate of marine, and made responsible for expenses 
incurred in saving them. 

Persons in quarantine are prohibited from passing beyond the 
established bounds. If they should do so, for the first offence a 
fine of two dollars is imposed ; for the second offence, a fine of four 
dollars ; and so on in the same proportion. For those allowed to 
converse with other persons belonging to another ship, or who are 
in pratique, certain places called locutorios are assigned. Two of 
these are upon the island, and several in the lazaretto. Each of 
the former consists of two stone walls, a breast high and ten or 
fifteen feet apart. One of the latter is a division of the lazaretto, at 
the junction of two of the avenues formed by walls, and lofty iron 
grates fixed within them, and rendering it impossible for the quaran- 
tined to communicate, save by speech. 

Besides these, there are many more regulations, equally strict 
and as well calculated to render the quarantines of Spain extremely 
irksome, tedious, and distressing to those who have the ill luck to 



144 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

trade with that country, or who, for any other purpose, resort to 
it and to Minorca. That some of these regulations are useful and 
necessary ; that they serve to maintain the health of the kingdom, 
and protect its inhabitants from the plague and other contagious 
diseases, may be granted; but we must, on the contrary, acknow- 
ledge that others of them are useless, unnecessarily harassing, 
unreasonable and injurious to commerce by increasing expenses 
and protracting voyages. What, for instance, can be more unrea- 
sonable, and more prejudicial to trade, than that a ship arriving 
at Cadiz, in the Atlantic, from the West Indies or any other parts 
considered unhealthy, should be obliged to proceed to Port Mahon, 
distant five hundred miles, consuming an unlimited period in going 
and coming, and, without being allowed any thing for the time thus 
consumed, discharge her cargo, incur additional port taxes, and 
ride out a quarantine of thirty or more days. 

So vexatious is this system of quarantining to all who visit Spain, 
whether for profit or on duty, for instruction or amusement, that it is 
a matter of the most serious importance, to introduce some modi- 
fication in it ; and when these are effected, it would be well to 
endeavour to obtain similar ones in other European countries bor- 
dering on the Mediterranean ; for all of them are more or less 
infested with quarantines, which often appear to be enforced from 
either cupidity, or superstitious terror; or from an unpardonable 
ignorance of the nature of the diseases they are intended to prevent, 
restrain, and exterminate. If these changes cannot be obtained in 
any other manner, it seems to me that all those governments 
interested in the commerce of Spain, and of the other regions men- 
tioned where quarantining is rendered such a nuisance, could not 
adopt a wiser measure than to make this a subject of negotiation. 



MARSEILLES AND TOULON. 

Marseilles, the greatest emporium of commerce in France, and 
in all the Mediterranean, is seated on the eastern side of an expanded 
bay, and around a small oval-shaped basin* constituting its harbour. 
This basin runs east and west, is 1050 yards long, and 300 wide at the 
middle, but is less than 100 yards across at its mouth. It is of uniform 
depth; excavation being constantly employed by machinery to clear 
it of the mud and other things accumulating at its borders. Merchant 
vessels of every size can easily enter and moor close to the quays en- 
circling it, but there is not depth of water for a man-of-war larger than 
a corvette ; and frigates and ships of the line visiting this port are 
obliged to anchor off its mouth, or three miles below, at Endurme, 

* Usually called the Mole. 



MARSEILLES. 145 

between it and the islands of St. John and Ratoneau, where they can 
remain perfectly secure unless the wind should blow violently from 
the south west, in which direction the harbour of Endurme is exposed. 
Nearly all the gutters, drains, and sewers of the place empty their con- 
tents into the basin, and as there is only one outlet to it, and the tide rises 
not more than six inches, it is nothing else than a general reservoir 
of filth and corruption. Its water is never transparent, but always 
muddy, and of a yellowish-green colour, and appears to be under- 
going decomposition ; which is indeed the fact, for it is excessively 
oiiensive to the olfactories, and emits such a quantity of sulphuretted 
hydrogen that it is useless for vessels in harbour to be painted with 
white lead, particularly during hot weather ; as a much greater 
quantity of the gas is then formed. 

The white paint of vessels lying long in this place becomes as 
completely blackened as that in the neighbourhood of a sink; the 
water being rendered much more impure by many of the lower class 
using the streets as privies. When it rains all the filth is necessarily 
washed down the gutters and sewers into the basin. It is said, 
that when a mistral, or north-west wind occurs, so much sea-water 
is driven into this as to clean it out ; and this may be done in a measure, 
but very imperfectly. Aware of the unwholesomeness of this basin, 
the inhabitants have for some years been devising means of purify- 
ing it, and at length have determined to cut a canal from it across 
the land on its southern side to the bay. If this canal is made of 
large size it may remedy the evil in a degree, but it is extremely 
doubtful whether this can be perfectly effected in any manner, so 
great is the quantity of filth daily discharged from the city, and 
thrown from the hundreds of vessels crowding the diminutive 
harbour. 

The city appears what it really is, a grand manufactory, and a 
place of great commerce. It differs, however, in appearance : the 
old part, which is on the northern side and about the basin, being 
much crowded, having extremely narrow and irregular streets 
paved with pebble, and no side walks; whereas, the new part, 
which lies back and towards the east, has wide streets paved 
with pebbles and stone flags, and crossing at right angles several 
squares, and a number of boulevards of well-grown trees, affording 
a delightful shade in summer. 

The houses in these two quarters differ as much as the streets, 
those of the former being old, illy-constructed, and without beauty ; 
while those of the latter are new, handsomely designed and built, 
and very commodious. In both quarters, nevertheless, there is a 
great want of fine public buildings, and in fact I saw none worthy 
of description. The people, bent on making money, seem to be 
illy-inclined to part with what they get for the erection of churches, 
houses of charity, museums, hospitals, &c. Notwithstanding the 
great trade carried on, and the vast fortunes made, little display of 
wealth is made, and it is doubtful whether there is much in the 
place ; for it is said that as soon as a man acquires a fortune he 

13* 



14(3 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

leaves it, and flies to Paris to live in ease and luxury. I will not 
positively assert that no public institutions of importance exist, but it 
is certain if they do, they were too obscure for me to discover them. 
Marseilles moreover cannot, as of old, boast of her literature ; being 
vastly deficient in schools and libraries, which are always the 
surest signs of a fondness for knowledge and a cultivation of the 
intellect. 

In Medical Institutions there is an absolute deficiency, and I 
therefore have nothing to say about them. The only public esta- 
blishment worthy of special notice is the lazaretto, which is on a 
large scale, and similar in its plan to that of Port Mahon. It 
stands to the north of the city, near the bay ; occupies several 
acres of ground ; and consists of high stone walls, encompassing a 
number of edifices appropriated to various purposes. Its regula- 
tions, and also those of the quarantine generally, are quite as strict 
as they are in Spain, and especially towards all persons and vessels 
coming from the Levant and other eastern parts where the plague 
prevails ; but within the last year the quarantine on vessels from 
the West Indies has been considerably reduced, and if they are 
uninfected they are admitted to pratique in a very short time. 
This reduction in their quarantine, will be undoubtedly followed by 
most beneficial effects to the trade with those islands. 

All merchant vessels quarantined are sent, until intercourse is 
permitted, to a harbour formed between the high rocky and barren 
islands of St. John and Ratoneau. This harbour has been made 
more secure by the erection of a lofty stone wall extending from 
one island to the other, and across the entrance on the south-west. 
That on the north-east being opposite the island of Chateau d'lf 
and the main land, no damage can be done the shipping either by 
the wind or sea. 

Climate. — This is much like that of other places in the Mediter- 
rean ; but from Marseilles being situated so near the Gulf of Lyons, 
and between the Pyrennees on the west, and the Alps on the east, 
is somewhat less temperate, being more subject to storms and 
sudden transitions of temperature. In summer little or no rain 
falls, but at all other seasons showers are frequent, and in winter 
the weather is generally both bleak and damp. Of the precise 
degree of heat throughout any one of the seasons 1 cannot speak 
positively ; but, during the several visits paid to the place, for 
longer or shorter periods, it was thus: in April, 11332, the average 
and medium temperature were 59°; in August of the same year the 
average was 81°, and the medium 80°; in February, 1833, the 
average and medium were 54°; in March of that year the average 
was 51°^, and the medium 74°^ ; in November, 1837, the average 
and medium were 53°, and in August, 1838, the former was 75° and 
the latter 74°i. It is seen here that the coldest month was 
March, and the next coldest, November; and that in these 
respects the climate is similar to that of Minorca. This is to be 
accounted for in the same manner, viz. ; by the prevalence of 



TOULON. 147 

northerly winds, but at Marseilles they are mostly from the north- 
west, and not from the north-east, as at that island. 

At Marseilles the prevalent winds are these two ; but the north- 
west is most regular, the strongest, and most protracted, blowing 
there, as it does in the Gulf of Lyons, sometimes for weeks with- 
out interruption, and for the most part of the time with tremendous 
violence. The south-west wind in summer blows frequently, and 
for several days in succession. At this season, likewise, the south- 
east occasionally prevails. 

From what has been said regarding the city, harbour, and 
climate, it is plain that it cannot be thought a healthy one ; and 
when we examine the records of history, we shall find that it has 
suffered as severely from diseases as any city in the world, and 
especially from cholera and plague — thousands of its inhabitants 
having been carried off by the former, and so many thousands by the 
latter pestilence, that it was almost desolated. It is utterly im- 
possible for any town, or any other place, to be healthy with such 
an inexhaustible fountain of mephitic gases as the basin in its 
centre, and having all of them penned in by houses and fortifica- 
tions. In hot weather fevers must of necessity be generated here, 
and in cold weather, when the humidity of the air thus enclosed 
is greatly increased by rains, pulmonary affections must be pro- 
duced in abundance. 

To form a correct opinion of the little benefit to be derived by 
invalids labouring under these affections from a residence at Mar- 
seilles, it is only necessary to go to the protestant cemetery at the back 
of the city, and view r the numerous graves and tombs of English 
and Americans buried there, and who, having left their homes to 
seek a restoration of health in the south of Europe, terminated their 
earthly career in that city, the climate of which, though milder than 
that of most parts of the United States, is very little better suited for 
consumptive patients than they are, and is much inferior to that 
of many places in the Mediterranean which are situated more to 
the southward. 

TOULON. 

Thirty miles to the eastward of Marseilles is Toulon ; the great 
naval depot for the south of France. It is situated on a capacious 
harbour, surrounded by hills and mountains, and is as perfectly 
protected from the sea and wind as it is possible for any harbour of 
the same size to be. The town is built on the north-eastern side of 
it, at the foot of Farron, a lofty, barren, craggy, and elongated 
mountain of a grey colour, and forming a prominent land mark for 
navigators. This town is very strongly fortified ; being not only de- 
fended by a deep fosse and almost impregnable wall upon the three 
sides looking towards the land, but by batteries and forts crowning 
every eminence of importance, and defending every approach both 
by land and water. On the eastern side of the harbour the forts 
extend in a chain from the top of Farron to the water's edge, 



148 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

and on the western side from the mouth of the harbour around 
its head to the town, directly in front of which are moles run- 
ning out from the shore ; and these being connected by bridges 
and other moles, serve not only for batteries of great strength, 
but for a foundation to the magazines, workshops, and other 
buildings. The wet and dry docks lie between these moles and the 
town, and contain a host of men-of-war, of every size from that of 
a brig to that of a three decker. 

Toulon contains 30,000 inhabitants, and probably more if we in- 
clude soldiers, sailors, and artisans employed in the navy yard and 
docks. It is very compactly built, is laid off with much regularity, has 
narrow but strait, well-paved and cleanly streets, and several small 
squares and boulevards. The houses being confined by the walls 
are necessarily high, being from three to six stories. They have 
contracted yards and gardens, roofs of brick tile, and are furnished 
with chimneys, but rarely have balconies or courts. Their floors 
are of polished hexangular bricks, and their stairs are made of the 
same, but to prevent fractures have edges of wood. All the houses 
are of stone, and plastered on their outsides. 

To the east of the town is the parade ground, a very large, level 
square, surrounded by a handsome growth of sycamores ; and, 
extending westward, along the back of the town is a broad pro- 
menade planted on each side w T ith the same kind of trees. Between 
this promenade and the mountain is a large botanical garden, -kept 
in excellent order, and containing a great many rare plants, which 
in cold weather are put into the hot houses, and in warm set out 
upon the sides of the walks. By each plant is fixed an upright 
board on which its name is inscribed ; so that it can be known at 
first sight by visitors unacquainted with botany. This garden and 
the town itself are copiously supplied with the purest and coolest 
water, which is conducted from the mountain, and rushing down 
the gutters in every street, or running in pipes beneath the pavements 
and houses, is poured forth in numerous hydrants and fountains. 

The valleys, hills, and parts of the mountains adjacent, are well 
cultivated, and thickly spread over with cottages and chateaux. — 
Each of the former is seated in a small farm sowed with wheat, or 
planted with vines, olives, and other fruit trees. The vines are 
planted in rows and between hills of earth, formed by ploughing 
deeply, or by piling it up with hoes and spades, so as to form alter- 
nate trenches and hills. The bodies of the vines are rarely more 
than eighteen inches high, being closely pruned every year, and the 
soil, which consists chiefly of red clay and sand, being rather poor. 
The olive trees are of the dwarf kind, but bear abundantly, and 
produce fruit of the best quality. 

The most productive parts of the country are east and west of 
the town, in the plains and valleys ; the most barren are those 
around Fort Emperor, or Napoleon, on the west side of the har- 
bour, and the summits of the mountain, which are arid to an 
extreme, and produce nothing but a few dwarf cedars and pines, a 
species of euphorbia, and some other plants. Farron and all the 



HOSPITALS AT TOULON. 149 

other mountains are formed of limestone, primitive and secondary, 
interspersed with some quartz, disposed in strata, and composed of 
white pyramidal and cuboidal crystals, easily separated by clear- 
age. Farron at the top is a mass of solid rock, covered with 
small, loose fragments, either ash coloured, hard, and compact, or 
white and soft, accordingly as they are of the common limestone, or 
consist of chalk. From Fort Farron, which crowns its most ele- 
vated part, a delightful prospect is to be had of the sea and islands, 
as well as of the town and. harbour: the country around it, and of 
the lower range of Alps bordering upon the Gulf of Genoa, and 
which, though compared to the higher range, are low, are neverthe- 
less covered with snow even in the spring, from one end to the other, 
and are most brilliant ornaments to the eastern borders of Provence. 
Hospitals. — Those claiming our attention most, are the old and the 
new Marine Hospitals. The first one is in the town. It is a build- 
ing of common size, and without any thing striking about it, ex- 
cepting an observatory on the top for astronomical and chronolo- 
gical observations. In the w 7 ards most of the sick seamen belong- 
ing to the navy are accommodated. This hospital being too 
confined in its location, and too contracted in size for such a num- 
ber of seamen as are employed at Toulon, and belong to the ships 
constantly going in and out the port, the new marine hospital, or 
that of Saint Mandriez, was begun about ten years ago, and has 
lately been completed and furnished. It stands on the southern 
side of the harbour upon a peninsula, between its entrance and the 
sea, and opposite Fort Malgue. It is a few rods from the water's 
edge, occupies a level spot, and is overlooked by the hills forming 
the peninsula. This building consists of a central one and two 
wings, running forwards towards the harbour, and forming three 
sides of a square, or court. Each of the three parts is three hun- 
dred feet long, fifty wide, and three stories high; and all three are 
made of hard limestone, partly hewn, partly rough, and coated 
with a cement of lime and pulverized limestone, used as a substitute 
for sand. The wings being several yards a-part from the main 
building, are connected at the second and third story by iron 
bridges. In each story of the wings are two wards, capable of 
holding precisely forty beds, so that there are twelve wards, and 
all of them together can accommodate 480 patients. In the main 
building are the dispensary, the baths, and the apartments of the 
officers ; both of the sick and well. The garrets and cellars are 
arched, and serve for store-rooms. The stairs are of hewn limestone, 
and the floors of hexangular bricks. In each of the three parts the 
staircase is in the centre; and running around the wards of each 
story of the wings is a corridor, which on the outside has a row 
of huge square columns supporting arches, between which are 
the windows. In fine, the roofs are of glazed, brick tile, the walls 
are of great thickness, and every part is made for use and dura- 
bility, and yet in the neatest style. 

In front of the hospital, uniting the wings and completing 
the square, are two handsome stone porter's lodges, and a fine 



150 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

iron railing. In front of each lodge is a pretty portico of four 
columns ; and in front of the gate a small dock of hewn stone 
has been made for a landing-place. At the back of the east 
wing is a row of one story houses, in which the labourers be- 
longing to the establishment reside ; to the back of the west 
w T ing a small cove, winding among the hills ; and behind 
the main building a pretty garden, formed of several terraces, 
rising one above the other and extending its whole length. This 
garden is cultivated with great care, and contains many rare 
plants. It is worked by convicts sent from the dock-yards, where 
they are kept. While speaking of these miserable beings, it may 
be well to state that altogether they amount to four thousand, and 
are employed in all public works. They built this hospital. Working 
in the dock yards, and being generally employed in rowing the public 
boats engaged in taking things about the harbour, they so far from 
being a burden to government, save it a vast expense ; for they 
wear nothing more than a complete suit of coarse red cloth, and a 
red cap, and live on the coarsest fare ; when they behave well 
they are allowed a few sous a-day. A good many obtain a little 
money by making the shell of the cocoa nut into a variety of 
curious things, as snuff boxes, bottles, needle cases, &c. Others 
make beautiful grass purses and straw boxes. All these articles 
are made with great taste, particularly the cocoa nut, which is 
carved into numerous figures, and after the style in which ivory 
is worked by the Chinese. In the hospital is a room filled with 
these things, which are sold by a convict to visitors. 

At the east end of the garden is the chapel. It is a rotunda of 
hewn stone, about fifty feet in diameter, with a portico of twenty- 
four Ionic columns, and a dome surmounted by a cross. Towards 
the harbour it has a magnificent flight of steps descending to 
tae level ground on which the hospital is built. Within, this chapel 
is still more elegant. Its ceiling is finely stuccoed, its floor 
made of variegated marble superbly tesselated ; its walls are orna- 
mented by a gallery of burnished brass and steel, and by sixteen Co- 
rinthian pilasters ; and its altar is decorated by a handsome oil 
painting of Saint Mandriez, laying his hands on the head of, and 
ordaining Saint Seprien, who is kneeling at his feet. This chapel 
is constructed of a limestone of superior quality, procured at 
Calisanes, and is, I think, a master-piece of architecture, as well in 
design as in execution. 

On the high ground above the garden is the reservoir from which 
the establishment is supplied with water. This reservoir is likewise 
made of hewn stone, is of a crescentic form, chiefly above ground, flat 
on top, formed of strong walls and arches, and divided into distinct 
chambers, the water entering into one, and being strained through 
charcoal and other substances into another ; then from it into a third, 
and so on until it reaches the last one, and gets to the pipes by 
which it is carried and distributed to every part of the hospital. 

The length of the reservoir is 150 feet, its breadth 50, and its 



SICILY. 151 

depth 30; and it has below doors of entrance, through which its 
interior may be inspected. The water which it contains is that 
brought by aqueducts from the summit of the peninsula, and collected 
when it rains from the roof; which being slightly inclined, and per- 
fectly impermeable, from being coated with water-proof cement, 
throws it into the pipes leading below. 

To return to the hospital: I will observe that it is in every respect 
admirably suited for the purpose for which it was designed, and 
appears to want nothing calculated to promote the health and con- 
venience of its occupants, who, however, are now small in number : 
the town hospital, as stated, receiving most of the patients. The 
whole cost of this establishment was only a million of francs, or 
short of two hundred thousand dollars. In this country it would 
have cost at least double that sum; and the only way in which we 
can account for its cheapness, is by supposing that a large sum was 
deducted from the expenses, by the workmen being convicts and 
receiving nothing for their labour. With the government of the hos- 
pital I did not become sufficiently acquainted to be able to give any 
interesting information on the subject ; but I saw enough to be con- 
vinced that it was of the best kind ; and that both persons and 
things were kept in excellent order, every part being neat and well 
arranged, and no disorderly conduct having been witnessed within 
the houses or within its precincts. All the persons, whether patients, 
servants, or convicts, were quiet, decorous in their deportment, and 
seemingly as contented as any other people. I can then very properly 
set forth this institution as in every respect a pattern of excellence, 
the buildings being finely planned, the architecture chaste and 
durable, the location convenient and salubrious. 

Much more might be said of Toulon ; for though small, it contains 
either within its walls or neighbourhood many things worth the 
attention of a stranger : but the naval or military man will find vastly 
more to amuse him from the place being a great naval depot, and 
likewise a well garrisoned fortress, and thus affording innumerable 
opportunities of improvement in every branch of his profession. 



SICILY. 

If he be in search of a country where he may safely reside, and 
escape the blighting cold of the north, the consumptive invalid, in 
my opinion, cannot in all^the south of Europe find any place better 
suited for him than that which he may select in this delightful island. 
Situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, at the most southern 
part of Italy, having only one chain of mountains in it, which though 
in winter partly covered with snow, yet, as they run from east to west, 



152 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

forming a barrier to the northerly winds, its climate is decidedly more 
mild than that of any other portion of Europe. But Sicily is not alone 
agreeable as a residence on account of its climate. Its beauty, its 
fertility, the abundant store which it possesses for the antiquarian or 
naturalist, make it still more attractive ; and while the traveller may 
ba improving the health of his body he can at the same time attend 
to the improvement of his mind. Having amused himself with 
seeing all the curiosities of Palermo, he can readily transfer himself 
to Messina, and being satiated with its pleasures he can quickly 
remove to Catania, where are to be seen many relics of antiquity 
mingled with the wonders of modern art and science. Instead of 
finding that city in ruins, and still oppressed by the flood of lava which 
overwhelmed her in 1609, he will see her, phoenix-like, revived from 
her ashes, and flourishing with more than her pristine splendour. 
Indeed, I have never been so agreeably disappointed in visiting 
any place. Instead of finding, as I had supposed, a miserable town 
built over the ruins of the other, I found myself in a beautiful city, 
with a population of more than G0,000 souls, and containing almost 
every thing calculated to amuse and instruct. Its streets are wider 
than those of any other in Europe which I have visited ; they 
intersect each other at right angles, and are well paved with 
lava flags. The gutters are in the middle of the streets, and have 
across them small moveable iron bridges for the convenience of 
foot passengers when it rains heavily, and the gutters are filled 
with water. The houses are large, especially those of the nobility 
and gentry, have walls of great thickness, and are built of a yellowish 
white stone, and of lava ; the former being used in front, the lat- 
ter within and at the back. They have courts, balconies, tile 
roofs, and floors of brick or stone, and large apartments commu- 
nicating by doors, not by passages, and decorated with fresco paint- 
ings. The houses are generally so large that a family seldom 
occupies more than the rooms upon one floor. 

The public buildings are numerous and handsome, and convents 
and churches abound. Of the former, the most noted, spacious, 
and beautiful is the Benedictine convent. It stands on a hill at the 
back of the town, and from the dome of its church commands a 
splendid view of the sea, city, Cyclopian rocks, and the eastern side 
of the island. From this part is also seen all the south-eastern 
face of Mount iEtna, and the deserts of lava formed by the erup- 
tions of 1381, and 1669. These deserts are craggy, rugged, 
black, and bare, exhibiting no other signs of vegetation than a 
scanty growth of prickly pear and a few other plants, except where 
the lava has been broken to pieces and covered with earth for 
making a garden ; as has been done behind the convent. The 
desert of 1669 extends from the village of Nicolosi, and Monte 
Rossi, where the eruption occurred, to the sea, a distance of ten 
miles, and varies in breadth from two to four miles. New Catania 
is built upon its northern border, and Old Catania is buried beneath 
it, with the exception of a few buildings, which were saved from 



CATANIA. 153 

being situated on eminences, as was this convent. Superstition, 
however, does not attribute its safety of the latter to its peculiar 
location, but to divine intervention and the exercise of a miracle; 
for it is said, and believed, that when the stream of red hot lava 
was flowing down the mountain, and, having overwhelmed farms, 
forests, and all other obstacles to its progress, had reached as far 
as this building, it divided into two branches, left it unharmed, and 
passed on to deluge all the rest of the Catania. 

Almost all of this lava is now solid rock ; of a russet black, or 
of a dark brown colour externally, and of a dark grey internally, 
marked by black spots, and presenting the appearance of granite. 
The large masses are divided by fissures, formed in cooling into 
many small ones, which can be easily quarried and converted into 
stone for building, or for other purposes. Such is the hardness of 
this lava, that it is very doubtful whether it wiil ever be converted 
into mold and rendered susceptible of cultivation. Two thousand 
years seem too short a period for that change to occur, though, as 
stated, it may become sufficiently covered with soil in that time to 
produce a scanty vegetable growth. 

The convent is on the largest scale, occupying as much space 
as a square. It has two spacious courts, and a church of ample 
dimensions adjoining its northern side. This church has its floor 
and chapels composed of the richest variegated marble and lava; 
which are so much alike, that when polished it is difficult to tell 
them apart, and perceive any difference. In it are likewise to be 
seen one of the finest and most beautiful organs in Sicily ; one 
hundred and twenty seats ; and forty eight scriptural bas relief 
scenes cut out of Brazil wood ; and twelve paintings done by the 
best artists. Among these the most striking is that of Saint Agatha, 
the guardian of Catania, having her breasts cut off, and undergoing 
death, rather than forego her devotions and marry agreeably to her 
father's wishes. This inhuman parent is represented as being pre- 
sent at this horrid scene. 

In the convent itself there are many objects worthy of regard. 
Of these the principal are the library, the museum, the banqueting- 
rooms for the monks, the abbots' apartments, and the grand staircase. 

In the museum are many modern and antique curiosities, well 
arranged and preserved; but by much the most valuable are the 
latter, which have been collected in the island, and chiefly at 
Catania. Among them are many tombstones incased in the walls ; 
and retaining the original inscriptions in perfection. They are all 
written in Greek and Latin characters, and are made of marble. 

The banqueti ng-rooms, two in number, are of a size appro- 
priate to that of the building and the number of the monks, and 
finished with good taste. Of the stairs I will merely state they are 
of the most ample dimensions, and have both the balustrade and 
steps made of the most precious marble. In the abbots' apartments, 
besides other superb furniture, are a number of tables covered with 

14 



154 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

slabs of mosaic, formed of the most beautifully coloured lava, repre- 
senting different prospects with singular exactness and beauty. 

Of the churches, the most remarkable is the cathedral; a noble 
building, constructed of the materials commonly used — stone and la va ; 
and containing, besides other valuable things, the bust and pavilion, 
with the relics of Saint Agatha. The bust is covered with precious 
stones ; and the pavilion, and the tomb in which the relics are pre- 
served, are -made of superbly chased silver. Should the invalid 
happen to be at Catania on the festival of Saint Agatha, he will 
see these things displayed with great pomp, and transported, on a 
platform fixed upon rollers, to every church in the city by the multi- 
tude, who, dressed in white gowns, and wearing white cotton night 
caps instead of hats, are so enthusiastic that they take the place of 
horses, and crying, "Viva Santa Agatha,'"' amuse themselves the 
whole day and night in hauling her ladyship about. This festival is 
also celebrated by horse races in the Strada del Corso ; by operas, 
dances, firing of thousands of crackers strung on poles ; and by the 
ladies muffling their faces in black silk cloaks, displaying only one 
eye, and running about the streets and squares to accost the gentle- 
men, and hold conversation with them without discovering them- 
selves. 

The only other church I shall mention is that of Restorata, or 
the Restored. This is a very small one, but particularly worthy 
the notice of a physician, from its being lined by the grateful 
offerings of persons who have been afflicted with disease. These 
offerings are mostly wax preparations representing the diseased 
limb, or other part of the person affected. The imitation of 
some of them is very good, the diseases being accurately copied, 
and the collection would become a museum of pathological anatomy. 
Besides these offerings are others of paintings, depicting dangers 
encountered by sea and elsewhere, and escaped by the guardian 
care of Saint Agatha. This church takes its name from a statue, 
plate, and other treasures belonging to some other one having been 
stolen and concealed among the rocks of lava, where they were 
found and restored. To mark the spot, and commemorate the 
happy event, the church was built. 

Catania is not wanting in literary institutions. The principal 
ones are the gymnasium and the university, both of which are large 
establishments and well organized. In the latter, most of the sciences 
are taught, and among them that of medicine. 

Nor does this city, although it has been so utterly destroyed, 
want antiquities to render it interesting ; the chief of them are the 
Greek Theatre and the Roman Amphitheatre. The former, from 
standing on a declivity, was not entirely overwhelmed by the erup- 
tion of 1669, and is partly above ground. It is built of hewn lava, 
has its benches covered with white marble, and has around it three 
arched galleries one above the other, ten feet broad, and from fifteen 
to twenty high. 

The amphitheatre having been situated below the declivity was 



CATANIA. 155 

perfectly deluged, and now remains hid in eternal darkness beneath 
one of the public squares ; it being necessary, as at Herculaneum, to 
make use of flambeaux when it is explored. In construction it is 
similar to the theatre, having vaulted galleries, &c, but it is on a 
larger scale. The galleries and the rooms of the gladiators are the 
only parts from which thelava and ashes have been removed. 

Besides these antiquities, and those already spoken of as being 
at the Benedictine convent, there is a valuable collection in the 
museum of the Prince of Biscari, consisting of Etruscan vases, 
statues, other specimens of sculpture, and many specimens of 
bronze armour and household implements. In this museum are 
likewise a large collection of minerals, shells, and other things to 
attract the attention of the naturalist. This valuable museum was 
formed by the present Prince of Biscari's father, of whom it contains 
a statue made of white marble, and standing upon a pedestal of 
finely polished lava. 

Weary with looking at antiquities, and desiring to see things of 
the present age, you may next proceed to the museum of Che- 
valier Gioni, a knight of Malta, and a gentleman of great urbanity 
and intelligence. He is a brother of the celebrated naturalist, who 
spent ten years in making this collection, and was honoured with a 
fellowship by the Royal Society of London. This museum is con- 
tained in six or eight rooms, communicating by doors; is kept in the 
neatest manner ; and is formed of a collection of all the minerals 
and shells, and other things belonging to Sicily and to Natural 
History; and also a splendid cabinet of all the varieties of lava 
which have been thrown out by iEtna, Stromboli, and Vesuvius. 
These specimens of lava amount to many hundreds. They are in 
their rough and natural state, and also in that of the highest degree 
of polish ; those of the latter kind being cut into different figures, 
commonly into -thin flat blocks, and made so smooth that all their 
rich and variegated colours are fully displayed. 

Having seen the curiosities of the city, the traveller may then, 
if introduced properly, engage in a most hospitable and genteel 
society; or wishing to visit the top of iEtna may readily do so if in 
summer, but if it is winter will have to encounter many difficulties, 
and undergo such fatigue, that he should not undertake the trip 
unless he is in the enjoyment of the most vigorous health. To a 
person who is asthmatic, subject to haemoptysis, or any other affec- 
tions of the lungs, the attempt would be both vain and dangerous. 
The distance being twenty-eight miles, the mountain very steep 
after passing the bosco or forest, which is eight miles from the 
summit, and the ascent being at that season made vastly more 
difficult by the mountain being covered with frozen and slippery 
snow, at least two days are required by the most active to perform 
the journey. 

In February, 1832, I joined a party of four to make the ascent. 
Every preparation was made to cause success; our landlord accom- 
panied us with a supply of provisions ; two of the best guides were 



156 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

employed ; and to render the journey less fatiguing we left Catania 
in the afternoon, and slept at Nicolosi, a village ten miles on the 
road. Leaving there by torch-light the next morning, at half-past 
two o'clock, we again set off, rode through the forest, left our horses 
and mules at the English house,* on its upper border, and then, sanguine 
of success in our enterprize, went on afoot. But we were doomed to 
be disappointed, the ascent was so excessively difficult, and the wind, 
and the snow, which began facing soon after we quit the house, beat 
so violently in our faces, that one half of the party gave out from 
fatigue when only half way up. The remainder kept on, reached 
the philosopher's tower, which is just below the crater, and after 
having taken a long rest were going on, and were about ascending its 
precipitous sides, when one of the party, an Englishman living at 
Catania,f sunk down from excessive cold and fatigue into a state of 
insensibility, increased by the too free use of brandy ; and obliged us 
to turn back, and carry him down to save him from perishing. Though 
the top of the mountain was a gently inclined plane, the rarefaction of 
the air was so great as to cause much difficulty in respiration ; and it 
was impossible from the great exhaustion it induced to proceed more 
than thirty or forty paces without halting to rest and take breath. 
At the moment we turned back, although the snowing continued, and 
must have occasioned a rise in the temperature of the air, the mer- 
cury in Fahrenheit's thermometer was seven degrees below the freez- 
ing point. Having hurriedly dragged our companion down, resusci- 
tated him by refreshments and a good fire in the English house, we 
remounted, rode through the forest in a hail storm, and to Nicolosi 
in a shower of rain, which rendered the descent so muddy and 
slippery, that we have good reason to be thankful for not having 
our necks broken by being thrown down some of the precipices 
by which we rode. 

Leaving Catania you may proceed to Syracuse, which is about 
forty-two Italian, or about forty English miles distant, either by the 
sea-coast or by the town of Leontini, anciently Leontium, and five 
miles in the interior. By both routes it is necessary to cross the 
Simeto, the ancient Symethus,a narrow, but rapid and deep stream, 
flowing around the foot of iEtna, and seven miles from Catania. 
Going by the sea-coast you must not only cross the river, but also 
an inlet of the sea quite as wide ; and in either case a ferry boat is 
required, unless in the latter one you are willing to ride across a 
sand bar, over which the surf is constantly breaking. At Leontini 
there is nothing of importance to be seen, except its lake, famed for 
eels, and about four miles in circumference. A mile from this 
town, upon the road to Syracuse is the village of Carlentini, and 
the extensive ruins of an ancient Roman fortress, which stands upon 
a high, precipitous, and nearly inaccessible hill, around which the 
road passes. From this hill a glorious view is presented of the 
fertile plains and valleys below of Catania, majestic Mlmx, and the 

* Called by the natives, Grotto Degli Inglesi. 

-j- Contrary to my advice, some brandy had been brought with us, and to the 
use of it may be ascribed in a measure this accident. 



CURIOSITIES OF SYRACUSE. 157 

meandering Simeto. Ten miles from Leontini is a most lovely 
ravine, several miles long, having perpendicular and frightful pre- 
cipices on its sides, varying in breadth from two to four hundred 
yards, and having its bottom covered with cottages and fruitful 
farms, through which, winding from side to side, runs a crystal 
stream. Overhanging the precipices are olive and other trees, up 
whose inclining trunks goats w 7 ere seen clambering to browse upon 
the leaves. The road passing close by the precipices on the 
eastern side, it is hard to decide whether one feels, as he rides 
along and looks below, more admiration or more horror. If he 
should be travelling in a latigo, a queer kind of vehicle without 
wheels, and carried by two mules — one being before, the other 
behind — between two shafts, I am sure the latter feeling will pre- 
dominate, for he will then have a double chance of tumbling down, 
as the stumbling of either mule would cause the latigo to loose its 
balance. This part of the road, as well as all that going over the 
hills and mountains, is a mere foot path, which has been used for so 
many centuries, that the mules and horses have worn trenches twelve 
inches deep, in the limestone rocks. There is no other choice, 
therefore, than that between riding in this vehicle or on horseback, 
it being perfectly impossible for any carriage with wheels to get 
along. 

Thirteen miles from Syracuse, on the upper route, is a square 
column of hewn stone, of a somewhat pyramidal form, about twenty 
feet high, and commemorative of some unknown event in ancient 
history; and three miles from Syracuse, near the northern wall 
of the ancient city, is a similar column, said to have been erected 
by Marcellus to commemorate its downfall and capture. On the 
sea-coast, eight miles from Syracuse, stands the town of Augusta. 
This is situated on a peninsula, looks well at a distance, and con- 
tains eight thousand souls ; but is noted only for its exportation of 
honey, oil, wine, and salt, which is manufactured there in large 
quantities. 

Having passed the monument of Marcellus you ascend a pre- 
cipitous road, which leads up from the plain to the top of an exten- 
sive and almost perpendicular declivity, and extend from the sea to 
the distance of a league or more in a north- westerly direction to the 
foot of a lofty conical rock, on top of which are the ruins of an ancient 
fortification, and a telegraphic staff. This rock has a cistern 
hollowed out of its top, capable of containing many thousand 
gallons of water, and I believe is the site of the fortification taken 
by the Athenian army at the commencement of the siege of Syra- 
cuse, and called Labdalon. From the summit of this rock, if the 
invalid has the strength and breath to clamber up its steep sides, he 
may acquire a more perfect knowledge of the topography of ancient 
Syracuse than from any other position ; for it is the highest point 
in the vicinity, and commands a prospect of all the ground it occu- 
pied — which was twenty miles in circumference — and of the sea, and 
the rich and beautiful country to the north and south. The greater 

14* 



158 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

part of the ancient city was built upon a piece of table-land, having 
a vast rock of secondary limestone for its foundation, of a triangu- 
lar shape, bounded on the east by the sea, on the west by the 
lovely valley at the head of the great harbour, and on the north by 
that in which the monument of Marcellus stands. On each of the 
two last named sides is a rocky declivity, rising about a hundred 
feet above the ground below, and in part overgrown by olive trees. 

The other portion of the city covered the island of Ortygia, on 
which modern Syracuse is situated, and the plain between the 
mainland opposite the Island and the western declivity. 

At the foot of Labdalon is the village Bellevidere, and beyond it 
to the east, a deep trench cut through the rock ; and on its eastern side 
are the ruins of a triangular castle built of hu^e blocks of limestone, 
and placed at the junction of the northern and western walls which 
may be traced along the brink of the precipices for miles. The 
walls of the castle, and those first mentioned near it, are quite per- 
fect; but those at a distance are thrown down, the blocks of stone, 
lying in confused heaps at the foot of the precipices and adjacent 
to the sea, are traced with great difficulty ; the greater part of 
them having had their materials appropriated to other works, or 
are moldered away, or being buried beneath the earth. 

Within this triangle were included the three quarters of the city 
called Epipolse, Tyche, and Acradina. The fourth quarter was 
Neapolis, placed between them and the island, and the fifth was 
Ortygia or the citadel. The latter, as stated, is the modern 
city, and is two miles around. It is encompassed by walls, 
but they are of late construction : next to the harbour and sea 
they are single, but next to the mainland are triple, and have 
between them deep and broad moats filled with water. Across 
these moats are drawbridges, forming a communication be- 
tween the city and country. — There were three harbours to the 
ancient city, that of Trogilus, towards Augusta — an expanded bay 
with a small cove, at the foot of the northern wall ; — the small harbour 
on the east of the island ; and the great one on the west of it, which 
is the only one now used. This is five miles in circumference, has 
a narrow mouth, on one side of which is the castle of Maniace, 
on the other the promontory of Plemmyrium, and Egg Rock, undoubt- 
edly the same to which the Syracusans tied the chain stretched 
across the entrance from the city, to prevent the escape of the 
Athenian fleet, after the defeat of Nicias and his army. Into the 
north-western side of this harbour empties the River Anapus, now 
a small stream obstructed with weeds and with steeping hemp. 
Between this river and the western declivity is a perfectly level 
plain, partly cultivated, partly fenny, and producing the papyrus 
plant, anciently used for making paper. 

To the west of the river are the only two remaining pillars of 
the famous temple of Jupiter Olympus, where Hamilcar encamped 
to see his army destroyed by pestilence and the sword of the 
besieged. Choosing such a site for his camp, it is not to be wondered 
that his army should have so soon become sickly and been so 



CURIOSITIES OF SYRACUSE. 159 

ravaged by the pestilence ; for this is now the most unhealthy part 
of the country in the vicinity of Syracuse, and a grand source of 
malaria. When the wind blows from the north-west this is pro- 
pelled immediately across the harbour against the city, which, were 
it not for this plain, might be said to be as well located for health 
as for commerce. At the north-eastern side of the harbour empties 
another stream of water — which is that brought from the mountains 
by the aqueduct of King Gelon, and being no longer wanted for 
drinking, turns three small mills situated where it falls over the 
western declivity into the ruins of the Greek theatre. One mill 
stands in the middle of the benches cut out of the rock, and the 
others are placed within the western wall, near the termination of 
the aqueduct. This everlasting monument of Gelon begins at the 
base of Mount Hybla, passes around the foot of Labdalon, thence 
through the fields once the site of the ancient city, to the precipice 
just above the theatre. The aqueduct is mostly cut through the 
rock, and is arched over with the exception of the air-holes, left at 
intervals of several rods, and about a yard in diameter. 

JNear the mill, at the angle where it turns towards the preci- 
pice to empty its water into the two basins hewn out of the rock 
beneath, the water has been diverted into a modern aqueduct nearer 
the sea than the ancient one, and resting upon arches. This aque- 
duct has been made to give the water a greater fall, and to enable 
it to turn the two mills above the declivity. After turning these 
and the other mill, the water irrigates the gardens below, and then 
disembogues into the harbour. Between the theatre and the sea- 
shore the precipices are much more irregular; the rock being cut 
and excavated into vast chasms and hollows for the purpose of pro- 
curing building stone and salt-petre — the last an abundant ingredient, 
obtained by pounding the rock, washing it in water, and then boiling 
down the solution. The Ear of Dionysius seems to have been made 
as much to procure this valuable article as to serve for a prison ; 
and the captive slaves and convicts appear to have been secured, 
and at the same time to have proved profitable to the state. The 
ear is a horizontal excavation twenty feet wide at the bottom, 
gradually becoming narrow to the top, and forming the letter S. 
Its height is nearly sixty feet at its entrance. The small chamber 
just over this, for the sentinel; the gutter of fluted tiles, for convey- 
ing water to the prisoners; the watch-tower at the top of a part of 
the rock left standing in front of the entrance, are still to be seen. 
Near the ear, and farther eastward, are a number of grottoes made 
in the same manner, but much lower and wider. Some of these 
are inhabited, and in one the people are employed in making the 
muriate of ammonia from camels' dung imported from Africa. 

Besides these cavities are others of greater extent. Among them 
are the gardens of the Marquis Casala, that of the Chevalier Lan- 
dolini, and that of the convent of Capuchins ; or what are termed 
the latomicB or quarries. All of these gardens are at the bottom 
of deep cavities made by the removal of the stone ; but that of the 
first and last named are much the deepest, being about seventy feet 



160 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

from the top to the bottom. All of them are highly cultivated, and 
produce fruit and vegetables of good quality. 

The convent of Santa Lucia is in one of these cavities, but it is 
the most superficial. In this convent are some good paintings and 
statues. Of the former the most remarkable is that of Saint Chris- 
tina in prison. She is naked, emaciated, pallid, and exhibits that 
distress suffered by a person starving to death; but her countenance 
expresses reliance on Providence, and true Christian fortitude. Of 
the statues, the best is that of Saint Lucia. It is made of the purest 
white Italian Marble, and represents her asleep and reclining on a 
couch, with her head resting on a pillow. Near her left hand is a 
crucifix ; near the right a book and rosary, which have fallen from 
her grasp. The face expresses every amiable quality of soul ; the 
hands and arms are perfect models of art ; and she is altogether so 
beautiful that the goddess of love herself might envy her. 

Near the chapel in which this statue is kept is the mouth of a cave, 
probably artificial, which the monks state reaches to Catania. In 
this cave, they say Saint Agatha and Saint Lucia were accustomed 
to meet and converse concerning Catania and Syracuse, their 
favourite residences, and over which they now hold guardianship. 
This story, as regards the length of the cave, is certainly untrue, 
for there is no proof to substantiate it; and as to the meeting of 
these devout ladies, no person can believe that their love or friend- 
ship could have been so great as to induce them to walk forty miles 
through a subterraneous passage either in total darkness, or guided 
by the best light in Christendom. 

The garden of the Capuchin convent is very large, filled with 
orange trees, and planted with shrubbery; it has the surrounding rocks 
and precipices overgrown with a thick growth of dark green ivy ; 
and has on its west side some grottoes, once used as dungeons for 
the labourers w T ho excavated the place, and which are now partly con- 
verted into vaults for the dead. Access is had to this garden by a 
flight of stairs cut out of the rock at one end. The convent itself 
is even more worthy of notice than the garden, from its containing 
the remains of all the deceased Capuchins who have died there, 
from the time of its erection to the present period. x\s soon as one 
of them dies his entrails are taken out, his body is put into a grave 
of lime, kept there several days, and until its fluids are dried up ; is 
then taken out, laid upon a table, set on the west side of the house, 
and exposed to the sun. When it has become completely dried it 
is dressed, as during life, in a coarse brown, or russet woollen 
cloth ; has a broad girdle fastened around the waist, a large hemp 
rope tied around the neck, and is then fixed in one of the niches 
encircling the hall in which are all the deceased.* There the corpse 
is allowed to remain until the soft parts have entirely moldered 
away, and the bones have fallen apart from the destruction of their 
ligaments. This hall is about twenty feet wide, a hundred long, 
well ventilated and lighted, and has a southern exposure. In it 

* A few for want of room lie in open coffins. 



CURIOSITIES OF SYRACUSE. 161 

I saw the remains of full a hundred Capuchins, in every possible 
state of decay ; from that when they were first placed in the niches 
to that when they had become skeletons, and had fallen to pieces. 
The integuments of some were peeling off, and leaving the bones 
of the face exposed ; some had the lower jaw nearly ready to 
lose its last hold on the upper, and hanging down upon the bosom ; 
and others had lost the arms and legs, and left the sack cloth 
covering nothing more than the naked bones of the body. The 
craniums of those who had entirely decayed and fallen to pieces 
were arranged on shelves above the niches, and there grinned hor- 
ribly in death on those below. This sight was, without exception, 
the most disgusting and terrific I have ever witnessed. 

To the westward of this convent, near the road to Catania, are 
four other places of interest. The ruins of what is called the custom- 
house, of which only a few pillars of parti-coloured marble remain ; 
the tomb of Archimedes ; the amphitheatre ; and catacombs. This 
tomb is one of a number cut out of the rock, and has a solitary 
fluted pillar on one side of its mouth. It is the size of a small 
chamber, and in its sides has niches wherein the urns containing 
the ashes of the dead were placed. The amphitheatre is three 
hundred paces in circumference, of an elliptical shape, has two 
galleries around it, one above the other; and probably had a third 
one, after the usual plan, above these, as there is a large quantity of 
rubbish around the building, showing that its height has been much 
greater. The lower benches are hewn from the rock, forming the 
base. The chief entrance is on the north side, and is a spacious 
arched way supporting some of the upper benches, and extending 
to the arena : this being covered by a rich soil is now converted into 
a garden. This amphitheatre when complete was capable of hold- 
ing, it is said, thirty thousand spectators. 

Should the traveller not be too sensitive to cold and dampness, 
after viewing the amphitheatre and other things above ground, he 
may go to the catacombs, where he will find a Capuchin Friar, 
living in a cottage at the entrance, who with a lighted flambeau 
will descend with him into them, and show their vaulted passages 
and tombs laid off like the streets and houses of a town. The 
passages are of sufficient breadth for several persons to walk 
abreast, are lighted by circular holes at top, intersect each other 
at right angles, and have the tombs on their sides. The tombs are 
commonly vaults, with from four to eight graves of about a foot in 
depth, cut out at bottom, placed parallel to each other transversely, 
with respect to the vault, and decreasing in size from the front to 
the back one. In some of the streets are sarcophagi of large 
dimensions, and in the centre of this gloomy mansion of the dead 
is a rotunda, forty feet in diameter, twenty feet high, having a 
vaulted ceiling with a skylight in the centre 5 and containing within 
its walls the tombs of the nobility. The rotunda, vaults, streets, 
and all other parts are hollowed out of the solid rock, and are 
admost as perfect as when made. So many years have elapsed 
since these catacombs were used for a cemetery, that they possess 



162 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

few relics of those who were deposited in them, and only some of 
their bones are to be seen. 

Leaving the ancient, I will now proceed to modern Syracuse ; 
but it is much less interesting, having few antiquities, and no public 
nor private institutions ; neither medical, nor surgical, nor charita- 
ble, nor literary, worthy of comment. Its streets are irregular, 
narrow, paved with lava and pebble, and wanting in cleanliness. 
Its houses are like those of Catania in structure, and are large and 
well built, but without chimneys ; the climate being so mild as not 
to require them, unless the weather is uncommonly damp and cold. 
The only family in the place who used fire for warming themselves 
was that of the English Consul. If cold, the inhabitants content 
themselves with additional clothing, and, wrapping themselves up 
in shawls and cloaks, and covering their heads with silk night-caps, 
they patiently await the return of warm weather, which is certain to 
come in a day or two. Indeed, the weather, though frequently 
damp and raw, is never really cold; the lowest degree of tempera- 
ture I knew to occur being only 54°, and that for one day. 
Agreeably to the register I kept while there, the temperature at 
noon was as follows, for the last five days in December, 1831. The 
average was 62°4, the highest 66°, the lowest 58° and the medium 
62°. In January of the next year, the average was 62° _5 T , the 
lowest 56°, the highest 64°, the medium 60°. In February, the 
average was 61 2V> the highest 66°, the lowest 54°, and the medium 
60°, and during the first six days in March, the average was 59°^, 
the highest 60°, the lowest 58°, and the medium 59°. This 
was the temperature of the air aboard ship in the shade ; but on 
shore, and particularly in the town, it would have been found higher, 
as it is uniformly increased by reflection where there are houses and 
other objects to produce that effect. The lowest degrees of tem- 
perature were on cloudy and rainy days, which mostly happened 
in February. Rains at Syracuse are not continued, but interrupted, 
and fall in showers as the clouds pass over ; and this circumstance 
gives rise to the saying that the Sun shines there at some hour 
every day in the year. 

Excepting some of the palaces of the nobility, the only building 
worth mentioning is the cathedral, which has been made from the 
Temple of Minerva : it has a fine front looking towards the only 
public square in the town, and is decorated with cornices, pillars, and 
statues of saints and divines. Its walls are principally formed by 
filling up the interstices of the porticos, which are made of lime- 
stone of a greyish-brown hue. The pillars are 25 or 30 feet 
high, 5 feet in diameter at the base, and of the Doric order. 
Those of the northern portico can be seen from the street, but to 
see those of the southern it is necessary to look through the windows 
or to enter the building, Each of these porticos was composed of 
eleven pillars. The eastern and western being hidden, the number 
they have could not be ascertained. 

* This was the number I counted, but others may be completely hidden by the 
wall, as are those of the last mentioned porticos 



DISEASES OF SYRACUSE. 163 

Opposite to the cathedral is a house in which is a museum of the 
antique curiosities found in and about the town. Among them are 
some of high value, as a statue of Venus, found buried in the earth, 
and an immense sarcophagus. The statue is mutilated, but shows 
the sculptor to have been a master of his art. The sarcophagus, 
as well as the statue is of white marble, and is very slightly injured 
by time or violence. 

An hour can be spent quite agreeably in looking at the works of 
art in this museum; and when satiated with viewing them, another 
hour can be spent in walking around the townbetw ? een the houses and 
walls, and looking at the sea, the great harbour, the lovely country 
beyond it, and the famous fountain of Arethusa, gushing forth from 
a cavern just within the wall next the harbour, and beneath the 
rock on which the town stands. The water rushes out in a torrent 
large enough to turn a mill ; forms a pool between the wall men- 
tioned and another next the street which passes over it, and then runs 
beneath the former into the harbour. When we behold such a body 
of fresh water bursting forth on a 1ow t and small island surrounded 
by salt water, we cannot wonder that the ancients should have 
thought it miraculous, and supposed it must be the river Alpheus, 
pursuing its course beneath the sea from Greece into Sicily. 

Viewing this fountain, w 7 e call to mind the history of Arethusa ; 
but our romantic feelings vanish when we see the pool filled with a 
crowd of women busily engaged in washing clothes upon the stones, 
hollowed out into basins by long friction, and exposing to view 
their sun-burnt legs, left naked high above the knees by the rolling 
up of their frocks and petticoats. Beholding these creatures, we 
are all led to this conclusion, that though they may be the real 
nymphs of the goddess, they are neither modest nor handsome. 

In manners and customs the Syracusans are the same as the 
Catanians; being polite, gay, zealous in religion, fond of dancing, 
and of all sorts of diversions, particularly that of the opera. Their 
complexions and temperaments are those belonging to the inhabi- 
tants of kaly and other countries in the south of Europe ; being 
sallow and bilious for the most part. The most remarkable thing 
I observed about their persons was a singularly offensive breath. 
With this peculiarity I w 7 as so much struck, that I endeavoured to 
ascertain the cause, and at length satisfied myself that it was pro- 
duced by eating raw the young and tender stalk of the anethum 
fozniculum, or common fennel, one of the most ordinary articles of 
food, and not afterwards cleansing their mouths in a proper man- 
ner. This plant, containing a strongly aromatic oil, appears capable 
of affecting the breath and the secretions of the body when eaten 
uncooked. I may have been deceived, but its peculiar odour was 
as distinctly detected by me as that of garlic has been in other 
people. 

Diseases. — Miasmatic fevers may be called the most prevalent, 
but they are by no means as much so in the town as in the level 
country about the great harbour. During the winter I spent at the 



164 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

place no epidemic disease occurred: not only the people of the town 
but those of the country and the crews of the five ships having en- 
joyed excellent health. Venereal complaints appear to be the most 
common ; and syphilis here is either very badly treated, and after 
the old mercurial plan, or is much more malignant than in this 
country; for the most common deformity among the lowest class is 
a loss of the nose from this complaint ; and so many persons have 
experienced this misfortune, that it is one of the first peculiarities 
a stranger observes. The fact of this class, however, being exces- 
sively poor, living wretchedly, and not having the best physicians to 
treat them, may likewise account for the severity of the disorder. 
Pulmonary complaints are rare, and the number of deaths from them 
very few ; and judging from the accounts given me, no place in Europe 
could be more suitable for consumption. While there I became ac- 
quainted with an old English gentleman, who stated that having 
been attacked with a pulmonary affection, and threatened with 
consumption, he had come to Syracuse twenty years before, and 
found the climate to agree with him so well that he had continued 
to reside there ever since, being fearful of a relapse if he returned 
home. Nevertheless, during damp and cold weather sore throat 
and catarrh occurred in considerable numbers on board of the 
John Adams, twenty-five of her crew having been admitted on 
the sick list for the last affection alone. 

Should a consumptive patient, then, resort here, he must not 
presume too much on the mildness of the climate, and must guard 
against exposure to bad weather. From not taking the requisite 
precautions, a medical officer belonging to one of the ships died 
at Syracuse very suddenly from hasmoptysis, to which he was subject* 



VEGETABLE AND MINERAL PRODUCTIONS OF THE ISLAND IN 

GENERAL. 

The vegetable productions are as numerous and abundant as 
might be expected in a country of such fertility, and possessing 
so fine a climate. Upon the hills flourish elms, pines, oaks, 
ashes, and chestnuts ; on the declivities, and in the valleys, the 
fraxinus ornus, the olive, fig, orange, almond, peach, pear, apple, 
and many other valuable trees. The vine abounds every where 
in the lowlands, and yields vast quantities of the best grapes, from 
which, by proper care, W'ines of fine quality may be made ; but the 
people not understanding the mode of preparing them, those of the. 
first quality are manufactured by foreigners who have settled in 
the island. 

The chief articles of export from the vegetable kingdom are manna, 
for which 40,000/. sterling are received annually ; saffron, sumach, 
pistachia nuts, figs, almonds and oranges. Among them should 
also be included wine, wheat, and barilla. . 

The mineral productions are not less abundant. Mtnu. alone 



, GRAHAM'S ISLAND. 165 

yields a great variety, and in the beauty of her lavas far excels 
Stromboli and Vesuvius. The principal minerals are coal, rock 
salt, sulphur, sal ammoniac, bitumen, gypsum, marble, agate, 
jasper, porphyry, alabaster, iron, copper, lead, and silver. Coal 
is found in the neighbourhood of Messina, and the muriate of 
ammonia within the crater of iEtna. 

This charming island, moreover, is not deficient in mineral 
waters both hot and cold ; and some springs exist in different parts 
of it which have been celebrated for ages. 

Animals. — Those of the domestic species are plentiful : the horses 
and mules are large, handsome, and spirited. Goats, cattle, hogs, 
and sheep are abundant every where, but wild beasts are scarce. 
Of game, such as woodcocks and ducks — and of the domestic 
birds, such as turkeys, geese, and fowls — there is a plentiful supply, 
especially in the winter. Then the markets are well stocked with 
them : and Syracuse is better furnished than other places w T ith many 
kinds of the most delicious fish to be causrht in the Mediterranean, 
and which serve not only for home consumption, but, after being 
salted, for exportation to foreign markets. 

A vast deal more might be said of this favoured region; one which 
furnishes an exhaustless store of almost every thing needed to support 
life, to make man contented, and to render him as comfortable and 
happy as it is possible for a mortal to be in this probationary existence. 
My design, however, is merely to given a sketch of it, and then to 
attract the attention of persons who are seeking to find a country 
with a climate suitable to their constitutions, or who are disposed 
to let no opportunity escape of acquiring information respecting 
a place which offers so wide a field for investigation, and so rich a 
reward for the labour, fatigue, and trouble they have to undergo. 



Having finished my observations with respect to Sicily, I shall 
notice briefly another island, which, though it now no longer 
exists, is yet entitled to our attention from the wonderful phenomena 
accompanying its appearance and disappearance. I allude to the 
volcanic island which arose south of Sicily in the summer of 
1831 ; and which was named, after an English captain who first 
landed, and planted the standard of Great Britain upon it, 



GRAHAM'S ISLAND. 

The phenomena attending its appearance were these, according 
to the accounts I have read, and heard from eye witnesses. On 
the 10th of July, Captain Corrao, the commander of a brig going 
from Trepani to Girgenti, and from whose name this island was 
likewise called Corrao, perceived, as his vessel was passing along 
the coast at the distance of twenty miles, a mass of water sixty feet 

15 



166 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

high and four hundred fathoms around, rising above the sea, and 
emitting a smoke which exhaled the odour of sulphur. The smoke 
continued to issue incessantly during the day ; the water to boil and 
bubble without intermission ; and at night flames of fire burst forth 
and illuminated the sea, the opposite shore of Sicily, and the island 
of Pantellaria. A noise like thunder was heard ; flashes of 
lightning were seen over the spot ; immense volumes of vapour 
arose, spreading around and curling to a prodigious height ; and 
then succeeded in rapid succession the vomiting forth of lava and 
ashes, rising as much as a thousand feet into the air, branching out 
as they ascended, and when they descended causing a thundering 
sound, and making the sea a sheet of foam. These phenomena 
continuing, by the 16th of July the island appeared, with a crater in 
its centre, and, rapidly increasing in size, in a few weeks was 250 
feet in height, and a mile and a-half in circumference. Its south- 
eastern side having been broken down by the sea, the w T ater from 
time to time rushed in and, pouring upon the red hot lava, caused 
a repetition in its eruction, and of that of vapour and ashes. 

Immediately after the eruption began, vast numbers of dead fish 
w r ere seen floating about the sea ; and I was informed by a Sicilian 
gentleman who was a state prisoner at Pantellaria at the time, that 
a few days afterwards they were picked up by the basketful on 
the shores of that island. These fish were without doubt destroyed 
by the excessive heat of the water around ihe volcano, towards 
which they must have been attracted in great quantities by the light 
emitted by the flames, and particularly at night when all other parts 
of the water were in darkness. 

The island having attained the size mentioned, the volcano con- 
tinued to burn slowly for some months, then became extinguished, 
and was followed by the gradual decrease and disappearance 
of the island, which was chiefly composed of ashes, and having 
little lava about it, quickly gave way to the perpetual assaults 
of the sea, became dissolved and sunk beneath its surface, to 
form a shoal, the dread of navigators for years afterwards ; 
but which, at this time, it is said, has several fathoms of water. 
Although not dangerous, this shoal is avoided by vessels, and 
they run along the coast of Sicily and steer either between this 
island and the shoal or pass to the southward of the latter. Its posi- 
tion has been ascertained by several navigators; but a little difference 
exists in their calculations ; one placing it in lat. 37° G' north, and 
long. 12° 46' east, from Greenwich; another in 37° 11' north, and 
12° 44' east ; and a third, in 37° 7' north, and in 12° 41'. However, 
as the island has sunk, its precise position is no longer of great im- 
portance, though, as it is possible it may reappear, or the shoal may 
increase, it would be most prudent to avoid going over the part 
where it was. 

Regarding the origin of this volcano there is much doubt, but it 
has been supposed, with good reason, that it was connected with 
that of Mount iEtna ; and in support of that opinion we have these 
two facts: that the eruptions of ./Etna are generally a great distance 



MALTA. 167 

from her summit and crater : that of 1069, for instance, as before 
stated, occurred at Nicolosi, eighteen miles below ; and, again, 
that before and during the submarine eruption mentioned, iEtna 
manifested those symptoms of uneasiness and intestine commotion 
which invariable precede an eruption ; such as belching forth 
flames occasionally, and emitting thick and constant volumes 
of dark smoke. Of the occurrence of these symptoms, at the time 
specified, I was positively assured by the English consul at Syra- 
cuse, a man of integrity and good sense, who witnessed them, and 
who from being long a resident in Sicily was well acquainted with 
the signs and phenomena attending the eruptions of that mountain ; 
and could not, therefore, have been easily deceived respecting them. 
Judging from these facts, we may reasonably conclude that the 
bursting forth of the volcano from the bottom of the sea prevented the 
occurrence of an [eruption on the sides, or at the foot of iEtna, 
and saved the island of Sicily from having some part of its fruitful 
fields again desolated and converted into a barren and rocky waste, 
where, for ages to come, neither animals nor vegetables would 
have been able to procure sustenance sufficient to maintain 
existence; where heaps of cinders, and irregular masses of black lava, 
would have been strewed over cottages and palaces, and hidden from 
view their ever-verdant, ever-productive gardens and vineyards. 



MALTA. 

This small island, the Melita of antiquity, naturally possesses 
very few objects deserving attention, but so much has been done to 
improve it ; so much labour, and such vast sums of money have 
been expended upon it, that there is no other island of the same 
extent which contains more works of art to interest us. Its basis 
consists of different kinds of limestone, but principally a yel- 
lowish one, composed of sand and lime, with a little alum and 
magnesia ; but sometimes the latter substance exists in a larger 
proportion, and when it does it exhibits the characteristic ap- 
pearance of this earth. A small quantity of alabaster and gypsum 
are likewise found. The finer sort of limestone is used in building, 
and is manufactured into a great many useful and ornamental 
household implements. Being soft, adhesive, possessing a smooth 
grain, and no crystals, it can be wrought into any shape, and is 
sculptured into urns and vases of every size, covered with bas- 
reliefs, representing flowers, vines with leaves and grapes, birds, 
beasts, and other animate and inanimate objects, in the most accu- 
rate manner. Many of the antique specimens of marble sculpture 
in Italy have been copied on this stone, and are sold in great num- 
bers, and at most reduced prices, considering the fineness of the 
workmanship. The softness of this limestone also renders it an 



168 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

easy matter to apply it to agricultural uses. Mixed with clay and 
other earths, or manure, after being broken to pieces, it forms an 
excellent soil ; and by the adoption of this practice, the island, from 
being a desert rock, has become in most parts very fertile, and 
capable of producing all the fruits and vegetables found cultivated 
or growing spontaneously in other parts of the Mediterranean. 
So fertile has the land been made, that it is said to yield from 
twenty to sixty fold. The chief products are wheat, barley, and 
yellow cotton, which forms the chief article of manufacture. Of 
the fruit, apricots, plumbs, figs, and oranges, are the most choice; 
but the latter are the best, being much esteemed. What is called 
the blood orange is extremely delicious. It is said to be the fruit 
of the orange engrafted upon the pomegranate, and when cut open 
presents the appearance of being streaked with blood. Hence 
comes its name. 

In minerals Malta is very deficient; and though silver, gold, iron, 
and mercury, are stated to have been once procured upon it by 
mining, yet at this time none of these metals are to be obtained. 

Of animals the number is also limited. Those of the larger 
species are cattle, mules, asses, horses, hogs, sheep, and goats. 
The asses are the most valuable, being of uncommon size and 
strength, and proving a profitable article of commerce. The cattle 
are of the smaller breed. Many of them are brought from Tripoli 
for slaughter, and after being fattened make beef of good quality, it 
being tender, white, and of delicate flavour. Cotton seed forms the 
chief article of food for fattening them ; as, from there being no 
pastures, they are stall fed. 

Sparrows, quails, partridges, swallows, and hawks, are the most 
common birds. Fish of many kinds are sold abundantly in market ; 
an immense number of boats and persons being engaged in catch- 
ing them off the mouth of the harbours and along the coast. 
Among the best fish are the whiting, rock, and tunney. To the 
latter Dr. Cren has attributed, when it is eaten to excess, the most 
singular and incredible property of causing a virulent gonorrhoea.* 
Besides the craw and other shell-fish, the pholas dactylus is to be 
found here, imbedded in the rocks underneath the water in the 
harbour and along the coasts, but it forms by no means as import- 
ant an article of food as in Minorca. 

Inhabitants. — .They bear strong marks of Arabic extraction, 
being generally of medium size, of rather slender form, and having a 
dark yellow skin, with black hair and eyes. They cannot be called a 
handsome people, it rarely happening that either males or females are 
seen who merit that appellation ; but on the contrary they are gene- 
rally homely. Living in a warm climate, eating little else than fruits 
and vegetables, seldom touching meat or any sort of animal food, 
the poorer class, and especially the female part, are a diminutive 
race, and indicate the greatest wretchedness. The old women 
often look dried up, are exceedingly yellow, very much wrinkled, and 
bear the signs of having suffered from a wan t of proper sustenance from 
* See Hennen's Topography of Malta. 



CLIMATE OF MALTA. 169 

their infancy. Nevertheless, the bodily defects of the Maltese are 
compensated for by the activity of their minds ; for they are intelli- 
gent, quick of apprehension, spirited, and adventurous. Industry, 
also, is one of their traits. This, connected with an enterprizing 
disposition, makes them persevering ; fond of emigration, and pur- 
suing any trade or profession by which gain is to be acquired. 
They are devoted to business and to the acquisition of money, and in 
acquiring this they are thought by some persons not over scrupulous 
in making a good bargain, and obtaining by craft what cannot be 
had by fair means. Hence it is that their reputation for honesty 
is not as enviable as it is for devotion, and they are said to be 
more given to chicanery than to fair dealing in trade. In church 
observances, attending divine service, ringing of bells — at all hours, 
night and day — and in strictly conforming to all religious ceremo- 
nies, they show themselves to be exceedingly devout, and are not 
excelled by any other people. They are fond of dancing and 
other innocent diversions ; marry early, as they soon reach 
maturity; and are much more peaceful than warlike. 

Population. — This is not correctly ascertained, as it is constantly 
varying by emigration ; but as the births probably exceed the loss 
from this cause and from deaths, and the population was above 
96,000 in 1824, it cannot at this time be under 100,000. 

Climate. — Not much need be said of this, as there is little 
difference between it and that of Syracuse, from which it is less than a 
hundred miles distant. According to Dr. Hennen, who lived there 
some years, the minimum of heat was 46°, the maximum 90°, and 
the medium 68°. Agreeabl}' to my register it was thus: in May, 
1832, 72°j5 for the ^average, 70° for the lowest, 74° for the highest, 
72° for the medium temperature. In October of the same year, 
the lowest was 70°, the highest 74°, the medium 72°, and the 
average 70°tt ; and in November, the first was 69°, the second 74°, 
the third 71°|, and the fourth 71°^. In December, 1836, the tempera- 
ture was 54° for the lowest, 69° for the highest, 6 1°! for the medium, 
and a fraction more than this for the average. The weather during 
summer is as dry as in other parts of the Mediterranean, vegetation 
being then parched up ; but in the autumn it becomes humid, and fre- 
quent showers falling, vegetation revives, verdure is restored, flowers 
shoot forth, and continue throughout the winter. The climate 
being so warm, and there being no mountains in the island, snow 
is never seen, except that imported from iEtna as an article of 
luxury. 

With regard to health, the climate of Malta deserves the title of 
being decidedly salubrious ; there being very few diseases endemic, 
and the epidemic ones being quite as rare. The island being rocky and 
elevated, having no ponds nor lakes, nor stagnant water nor marshes, 
malarious fevers are uncommon. Pulmonary complaints are not 

* I should have observed before, that by the average is meant the sum of the 
temperature of the days of the month divided by the number of days; and by the 
medium temperature is meant the sum of the highest and lowest divided by two, 

15* 



170 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

numerous ; and persons affected by them are those who are exposed 
to inclement weather ; and among them the soldiers of the garrison, 
particularly those stationed in the interior of the island upon the 
heights. Ophthalmia is a common affection in some parts; small- 
pox seldom occurs; and plague has not prevailed for a great many 
years, but cases now and then happen in the lazaretto, being im- 
ported from the Levant by vessels coming from there. 

This awful disease was last prevalent in 1813, and carried off, 
then, between four and five thousand of the inhabitants, or about 
five per cent, of the whole population. In the year 1675 it was 
much more destructive; more than eleven thousand persons becom- 
ing victims to it at that period. 

The exemption from its ravages of late years is to be ascribed to 
a change in the mode of living, and greater cleanliness of persons 
and things ; but as we have strong evidence of its contagiousness, 
some credit is due to the strict quarantine in which all vessels 
coming from countries where it is endemic and prevalent are 
retained until danger of infection is no longer feared. In the qua- 
rantines, however, there is a want of discrimination, and unneces- 
sary strictness, not only in regard to these but to all other vessels 
arriving from foreign countries. The day of arrival, and that of 
getting pratique are taken into calculation, but the time spent in 
coming is not considered. If a case of pestilential disorder occurs 
the quarantine recommences. Any person who gives a false certi- 
ficate of health, or conceals articles capable of acting as fomitcs, 
and smuggles them out of the prescribed limits ; or any person who 
goes beyond these, either on land or water ; or who visits another 
vessel, is liable to suffer the penalty of death. For other infractions 
of the quarantine laws a like severity is practised. 

Citta Vecchia, or the old city, stands on an eminence five miles 
from Valetta, which is the capital of the island. It is a small, walled 
town, with only one conspicuous object about it, and that is the cathe- 
dral, which has a handsome dome, of large dimensions, and contains 
a number of excellent paintings, both in oil and fresco. The former 
were executed by Calabrese (Prefe'),the latter by Manni. Beneath the 
floor are the remains of the bishops, and on the covers of the vaults 
are some beautiful specimens of mosaic. The hats of these divines 
are preserved with as much care as their bodies, and five of them 
are suspended and kept dangling over one of the chapel doors, to 
attract the gaze and wonder of the stranger when he beholds their 
enormous brims. 

Near the cathedral, beneath a small church, is the cave of St. Paul, 
in which the apostle is said to have lived after his shipwreck ; but on 
what evidence this is asserted I know not, there certainly being a 
want of proof in the Scriptures. The cave is in a very white lime- 
stone rock, appearing to possess as an ingredient a large quantity 
of magnesia ; is about seven feet high, ten broad, and sixteen long ; 
has its mouth closed by a plank door ; and looks from the manner 
in which the rock has been excavated for obtaining specimens, more 
like an artificial than a natural grotto. For breaking the rock a 



CITY OF VALETTA. 171 

pick-axe is kept always ready. The former is asserted, and be- 
lieved by many persons, to possess the most miraculous property of 
growing as fast as it is cutaway, so that the cave is now not a bit 
larger than it was when St. Paul made it his abode. 

Not far from this cave are the catacombs, which are of great 
extent, and cut out of the rock. Persons have been repeatedly 
lost in them ; and to prevent any more accidents of the kind some 
of the passages have been walled up by government. These cata- 
combs being similar to those of Syracuse need no further notice. 



VALETTA, OR LA VALLETTA. 

This is the modern city of Malta, and takes its name from the 
renowned Grand Master Lavalette, who founded it on the peninsula 
between the great and small harbour, and called- Mount Scebarras, 
in the year 1566, immediately after the defeat and expulsion of the 
invading Turkish army under Soliman II. 

The great harbour runs parallel with Yaletta, and forms nearly 
a straight line next to it ; but on the opposite side it makes five 
indentations, each of which is a distinct cove. Between the coves 
are five peninsulas. Upon the one next the sea, and forming the left 
side of the entrance to this harbour, is the extensive and formidable- 
fort of Recasoli ; on the second are the Naval Hospital and a village : 
on the third is fort St. Angelo, which stands at its extremity, and 
is a lofty castle with four tiers of guns, separated from the town 
of Vittoriosa by a deep and wide fosse. Vittoriosa occupies the 
rest of this peninsula, and takes its name from the defeat of the 
Turks before it by Lavalette. Upon the fourth peninsula are situated 
the towns Senglea and Burmola ; the first being on its extremity, 
the second on its neck. On the side of Burmola, looking towards 
Vittoriosa is the naval arsenal, where the English men of war are 
refitted. The fifth peninsula is wider than the others, but has on 
it only the village Coradina, some scattered buildings, and an 
obelisk of Maltese stone, erected in memory of a captain in the 
English navy, who died some years ago. 

In the middle of the small, or quarantine harbour* called Marsa 
Musceit, is an island of a triangular shape, on which are the lazaretto 
and Fort Emanuel. This island communicates by a bridge with 
the main land. At the mouth of this harbour, on the right hand 
side going in, and opposite Valetta, is a small round fort, named 
Tinier; and at the head of the harbour are the villages of Pieta 
and Missida. 

Upon the neck of the peninsula on which Yaletta stands are the 
town and complicated impregnable outworks of Floriana. Be- 
tween this town and Yaletta is the parade ground for the garrison, 
and a botanical garden several hundred yards in length, and con- 
taining a great collection of exotic and indigenous plants. This 
garden is finely cultivated, and kept in the best order; sentinels being 
stationed at the gates to preserve it from depredation. 



172 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

Valetta itself occupies rather better lhan half of the peninsula; 
which being elevated about a hundred feet above the sea, shows 
oft' the city to great advantage, and gives it a commanding pros- 
pect. The city is encompassed by walls of great height and strength. 
Some are single, others double and triple, according to the natural 
strength or weakness of its position. On the side next the small 
harbour, and at its upper part, where it is narrowest, they are triple ; 
and on that towards Floriana they are double, and are made more 
inaccessible by a ditch, as deep as they are high, and of corres- 
ponding width. This ditch extends from harbour to harbour, and 
has over it several narrow, single arched, stone bridges, forming 
communications between the outworks and the city. To prevent 
an enemy from gaining access to it by these bridges, they are 
flanked by small batteries, which could in an instant destroy and 
throw them into the ditch. Behind these walls are two hexangular 
forts elevated above them and the city, and commanding all the 
adjacent fortifications and the glacis towards Floriana. 

At the very extremity of the peninsula is Fort St. Elmo, a very 
large and strong castle, having a light house on top and in the 
centre. This fort is separated by a ditch from the city, and com- 
mands the entrance of both the small and great harbour. Over- 
looking the former harbour are two windmills, which in case of a 
siege would enable the garrison, provided they had corn, to have a 
supply of fresh flour; and overlooking the latter harbour is an un- 
covered building, formed of massive stone arches, having several 
tombs of distinguished individuals within it, and a garden outside, 
next the city. This building is called the Barratus, and was erected 
by the knights. It is a pleasant promenade ; and from its balconies 
the whole of the great harbour, and the towns opposite, may be seen. 

Valetta is 3200 yards long, and 1200 wide. It is laid off with 
great regularity ; having its principal streets running parallel with re- 
spect to each other and to the peninsula; and having these intersected 
by the cross ones at right angles. All of them are of medium width, 
paved with pebbles and stone flags, and well cleaned. The cross 
streets, on the sides of the peninsula, from its being so high and 
precipitous, are so many stairs ; being paved with flags, forming 
regular steps to the summit. 

The houses are rarely under three stories high ; they are flat roofed, 
built of the stone already mentioned, spacious, with and without courts, 
and have cisterns beneath them for holding the rain water caught 
from the roofs. These cisterns are kept free of animalcula3 by putting 
into them either lime, or eels, which are preferable, as they feed on 
them, and do not affect the taste of the water. Lime, making it 
hard, renders it less agreeable to the palate, and not so well suited 
for washing as when it is sweet. The price of labour being very 
low, the materials easily worked and very cheap, house-rent is 
exceedingly moderate, it being possible to rent a palace for the 
same price as is paid in our cities for_an ordinary dwelling. 

The chief public edifices are the cathedral, the palaces built by 
the knights of the different European nations, the university, the 



UNIVERSITY OF VALETTA. 173 

palace of the grand master — now that of the Governor of the island — 
and the hospitals. 

The cathedral or church of St. John occupies a square. It con- 
sists of a main building and two wings, and has two steeples in front 
filled with bells of great size. Externally it is rather an ugly building, 
but in its interior is very handsome and elegant ; its floor being com- 
pletely paved with mosaic of the most costly marble ; its ceiling, 
which is formed by a single arch, being decorated by fine frescos, 
the work of Matteo Preti, called Calabrese, and representing the 
history of St. John ; and its chapels being ornamented with the 
mausoleums of some of the most distinguished knights, as Nicholas 
Cottoner, Gregory Carafa of Arragon, Antonio Zandadario, and 
Emanuel Pinto. These mausoleums are of bronze and variegated 
marble, and superbly executed. The chief altar or chapel has at 
the back of it a b as relief statue of Saint John, representing him in 
the act of baptizing our Saviour, by pouring water upon his head 
from a shell, while they are standing in the Jordan. This scene is 
made in white marble, and is a splendid piece of sculpture. 

Beneath the floor are vaults, and a room in which are the sarco- 
phagi of Valetta and three other renowned knights. Each sarco- 
phagus rests upon two lions, and has the statue of the deceased 
clothed in armour sculptured on its lid. 

The largest and finest palace of the knights is that of the Spanish, 
called the Auberg of Castile, and now used as a barracks by the 
officers of the garrison. Its front is richly ornamented with coats 
of arms, pilasters, and cornices. 

The governor's palace forms a large square, and contains, besides 
tapestry, frescos, oil paintings, and other ornaments, an armoury 
in which are three hundred suits of ancient armour — some of which 
are on wooden figures — and ten thousand stand of arms for the use 
of the garrison. Among the paintings, the best are the full length 
portraits of Louis the Sixteenth, George the Fourth, and Catha- 
rine the Second, of Russia. 

Of the university, I will remark that it is a commodious and hand- 
some building, and was founded by the Grand Master Pinto. Its 
schools are well organized, and in them degrees are conferred 
for medicine, surgery, natural philosophy, chemistry, botany, theo- 
logy, canon law, ethics, metaphysics, rhetoric, painting, drawing;, 
navigation, and various dead and living languages. Before a 
medical student is allowed to graduate, he is required to attend 
lectures on professional, and the collateral branches for four 
years. Their Theses are written in Latin, and they are examined 
in Italian. No person is permitted to practice medicine or surgery, 
nor any apothecary to vend medicines without a certificate from 
government, obtained by application through a committee of physi- 
cians composed of five members. One of these is the police, and 
another, the quarantine physician. Quacks, therefore, are entirely 
excluded from Malta ; but their medicines, nevertheless, are sold in 
moderate quantities. Morrison's pills, for instance, have found 
their way there, and are vended by the apothecaries. This sale 



174 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

being allowed, the law against quacks is rendered partially nuga- 
tory. Speaking of physicians, it may be well to state that their 
fees are very moderate, only about thirty cents being paid for a 
visit from a native practitioner; but those of the English physicians 
are much higher. 

Hospitals. — These are not confined to the limits of the city 
altogether ; there is a Foundling Hospital at Floriana, and also 
what is called the Casa Santa, which can accommodate sixty 
patients ; and at Fort Ricasoli, is one large enough for a hun- 
dred of them. At this fort, likewise, is a convalescent depot for 
troops from Corfu and other parts. The Naval Hospital, as stated, 
is on one of the peninsulas opposite the city. The hospitals within 
the city are the Civil, which consists of two distinct parts, one for 
males, the other for females ; and the General Military Hospital, appro- 
priated exclusively to the use of the sick belonging to the garrison. 

The Civil Hospital, before the French took possession of Malta, 
was the Magdalen Convent, or that of Le Convertite ; and the 
Civil Hospital, was then what is now the Military. The male 
department of the former with a front of 200 feet, has two wings 
extending back 100 feet, united by a wall, so as to form a court; 
it is two stories high, flat roofed, and divided into medical and 
surgical wards, dispensaries, store-rooms, and other apartments. In 
the court is the dead house, where dissections and post-mortem 
examinations take place. Two of the best wards are, one in the 
second story occupying its whole side, and that which was formerly 
the church, and is on the other side of the house. The latter ward 
is of an oval shape, has a vaulted ceiling, and a chapel or altar at 
one end, on which are hung small silver arms, legs, &c, the offerings of 
the patients who have had those parts diseased, and having got 
well have thus fulfilled their vows. This ward is of the height of 
the building. 

The kitchen is kept, as other parts, in good order, and very cleanly. 
The fire places are elevated several feet above the floor, and form 
a kind of tables, the tops of which are subdivided into a number 
of smaller fire places, for cooking with charcoal, of which a 
very small quantity is quite sufficient to cook whatever is placed 
over them; for radiating its heat immediately against the bottoms 
of the vessels this acts with great force and rapidity. This mode 
of making fire places is common in all the south of Europe ; and it 
has several advantages over that adopted in the United States; they 
enable the cooks to attend to their business without stooping, require 
much less fuel, consuming only what is absolutely necessary, and 
save the cooks from exposure to that excessive heat from which 
they suffer so much before a large fire. 

The medical wards w r ere attended by Dr. Speranzo, the surgical 
by Dr. Partelli ; both of whom are eminent in their profession. 
They have several assistants, and visit their patients at seven o'clock 
in the morning and at two o'clock in the afternoon. 

Of the manner in which the wards are furnished it is unneces- 
sary to speak minutely ; and I will merely state that they contain 



HOSPITALS OP VALETTA. 175 

all requisite conveniences. This hospital was founded by the Knights 
of Saint John, who attended it in rotation, and are said to have 
served food to the sick in vessels of silver. All male applicants 
are admitted for treatment, but those who are able to pay are 
charged reasonably. The general expenses of this as well as of 
the female department are defrayed by government. The latter 
department, or the female hospital, is of similar construction to 
the former, but is not so large. It stands on the opposite side of 
the street between the male hospital and the great harbour; and has 
an uncommonly handsome exterior, the architecture and work- 
manship being of superior style ; but its interior is much the same 
as that of the other hospital. The surgical wards were attended 
by Dr. Bardou, the medical by Dr. Speranzo. 

For venereal patients there is a separate ward, to which all 
women of the town, when they are found diseased, are sent by 
the police physicians, who examine them every fifteen days to ascer- 
tain their condition ; an excellent regulation, as it keeps a constant 
check on the diseases with which they are affected, and prevents their 
diffusion. This hospital is called La Casetta, was founded in 1664, 
by Catharine Scoppi of Siena ; is superintended by a matron ; and 
governed by the same managers as those of the male hospital. 

Military Hospital. — This is situated near to the civil hospitals, 
and on Strada Mercanti, the street on which they stand. This 
hospital consists of an old and of a new T part; but the latter is now 
unoccupied by the sick, the former being large enough for them, 
and is rented as a store house, for which it is well suited, being close 
to the great harbour, and having a length of more than six-hundred 
feet. The old part is not as long, but is quite equal in its general 
dimensions, being higher and wider. It has two courts ; each of 
which is about one hundred feet square, and a terraced roof upon 
which the patients are allowed to take exercise. 

This hospital was divided between the invalids belonging to 
three regiments, the fifth, seventieth, and ninety second Highland 
regiment. The medical officers were the surgeons and their assis- 
tants, of whom there was one of each grade to a regiment. The 
surgeon of the fifth was Dr. Henderson ; that of the seventieth, 
Dr. Foster; and that of the ninety second, Dr. Palmer. Each 
of these* officers had the entire control of the patients belonging to 
his own regiment, and they were kept as distinct as if they were 
in separate houses. As at the military hospital of Gibraltar, pro- 
visions were furnished by contract ; ten pence instead of nine 
pence a day being allowed for the subsistence of each patient ; 
probably because provisions were dearer at Malta. All the patients 
were dressed like those at Gibraltar. 

The wards and other parts were under the immediate charge of 
three Serjeants and six orderlies ; there being one of the former and 
two of the latter for the patients of each regiment. The Serjeants 
took care of the clothing, and had the superintendence ; the orderlies 
attended to cleaning the house, and waited upon the sick. Finally, the 
best order and greatest cleanliness prevailed throughout the establish- 



176 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

merit, and as much silence and decorum were maintained as in a 
well regulated private dwelling. 

Naval Hospital* — This building,* as has been stated, stands 
upon one of the promontories on the southern side of the great 
harbour ; and, having an elevation of about sixty feet above it, com- 
mands an extensive prospect of the sea and island. It is com- 
posed of a main building and two wings, which extend back- 
wards, and form with it three sides of a square. The whole 
house is built of the same stone as that used for making the buildings 
of Valetta ; and all parts of it are finished in the chastest style, both 
the architects and mechanics having performed their work in the 
best manner. 

The main building is three stories high, about a hundred feet 
square, has an elegant stone balustrade around its terrace, a 
receding portico of four large doric columns in front of its second 
story ; and contains the chapel, and the apartments which are oc- 
cupied by the dispenser and his family. 

The wings are precisely alike, and the description of one 
may answer for both. Each is two stories high, about one 
hundred feet in front, runs back about one hundred and fifty feet, 
and has four receding porticos of the doric order. Each of the 
front and back porticos is formed of eight columns, and each of 
the side ones of fourteen. 

In the eastern wing are a kitchen, weighing room, the wardrobes, 
baths, and several store-rooms, all of which were perfect patterns 
of neatness and good management, and particularly the wardrobes. 
The latter consisted of several small rooms, containing all the 
clothing belonging to the hospital ; as sheets, blankets, coverlets, 
mattresses, towels, &c, which were under the charge of a woman, 
and kept in such order that it is well worthy the attention of any 
visiter to look at them, although they may seem to be objects not 
meriting notice. As an example of the nicety observed, I will 
state that the mattresses have covers of white linen made like 
pillow-cases, so that whenever they become soiled they can be 
easily removed and replaced by others. 

This is certainly a preferable method to either making the 
patients lie on dirty mattresses, or having these repeatedly taken 
to pieces to be cleaned. 

In one of the wardrobes are contained all the uniforms and 
other clothing brought by the sick. In this apartment are a number 
of racks, made of slats, and divided into boxes of large size, 
and marked with the letters of the alphabet. In these boxes the 
clothes, having been carefully bundled up and marked with the 
names of their owners, are placed ; each bundle being put in the box, 
on which is the first letter of the family name of the owner. In 
this manner not the least confusion occurs ; and w T hen a person is 
about leaving the house, he has his clothes restored without any 
difficulty. The wards, the dispensary, and the apartments for the 

' See Plate VIII. 




< 
g 






s 



HOSPITALS OF VALETTA. 177 

officers, both the warrant and commissioned, are in the second 
story, and corresponded in neatness and order with the apartments 
of the first story. The wards are three in number ; one is of moderate 
size, and two are large. 

The patients were all dressed as at the Military Hospital, but in 
a more complete manner, having entire suits of white flannel. 

A table is set in one of the wards for those who are strong enough 
to go to it ; and it was really gratifying to see how well it was fur- 
nished, having every thing on it which could add to the comfort of 
the patients, and presenting as much nicety as it is desirable to find 
at the table of any private gentleman. As regards the food, it was 
regulated in a similar manner to that of the Military Hospital at 
Gibraltar, and therefore it is not necessary for me to say more on 
the subject. 

To finish my description of the hospital itself, I will state, that it 
has a guard of soldiers at the gate, it is supplied with water from 
cisterns filled with that collected by the terraces when it rains, and 
has at its back, between its wings, a beautiful garden, which even 
in winter is filled with flowers, and affords a charming promenade 
for convalescents, and other patients who are able to go out of 
doors. 

The officers attached to the hospital consist of the surgeon and 
his assistant, and of the dispensing apothecary. The assistant- 
surgeon resides in the house, and has his apartments in the 
western wing ; but the surgeon, Dr. Liddell, occupies a handsome 
dwelling situated just without the enclosure, and on the eastern 
side of the promontory towards Fort Recasoli. 

This gentleman has had for a number of years the complete 
control of the establishment; nor could any one be better fitted for 
this office. His services in the navy, his eminent abilities, and pro- 
fessional attainments, entitled him to the appointment, which he has 
held undisturbed. The government has thus rewarded merit at the 
same time that it has consulted its own interests and the welfare of 
all the persons connected w 7 ith the hospital, either in the way of 
business or on account of sickness. 

This plan of making a judicious selection of a surgeon for a hos- 
pital, of which he must as a matter of course be considered to know 
at least as much as any person not belonging to the profession, and 
then allowing him to do whatever he may think necessary for its 
prosperity, is assuredly good policy : and much better than that 
of giving the management of it to persons ignorant of what it 
requires, and who not belonging to the profession cannot take the 
same interest in the welfare of the institution as the surgeon, whose 
pride, ambition, and reputation, are concerned. 

I here conclude what I have to say concerning Malta, and will 
next speak of another island of no less importance in the eyes of 
some. 



16 



178 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 



CORFU. 

Of all the islands celebrated by the poets and historians of 
Greece, no one so exactly corresponds with the descriptions given 
by them as this does, and no one of them so completely equals our 
expectations. Its size, beauty, convenient location for commerce, 
its harbours, and great fertility, render it the most important of the 
Ionian Islands. It is thirty-seven miles long, and varies in breadth 
from two to seventeen ; being of the former width at its southern, 
and of the latter at its northern extremity. It has a chain of 
mountains extending through it from south to north, which, when 
they have nearly reached Cape Drasti, strike off to the eastward 
towards the coast of Albania. The two highest points are Mounts 
Santa Decca, and St. Salvador, or Pantokrator. The first one is 
2000, and the second 8000 feet in height. 

On the western side the scenery is not so handsome, nor is the 
land so rich as it is on the eastern side; for there, from the moun- 
tains to the coast, it is as fertile as possible, being covered over 
with olive groves, vineyards, orange, lemon, plum, peach, apricot, 
pear, apple, pomegranate, and other trees ; interspersed with wheat 
fields, and gardens, which latter produce an abundance of the finest 
vegetables. 

The description given by Homer of the garden of Alcinous is 
applicable to the whole of the eastern part, and it is really aston- 
ishing how accurately he has sketched the productions of the 
island in the following lines : — 

" Tall thriving trees confess'd the fruitful mould ; 
The red'ning apple ripens here to gold. 
Here the blue fig with luscious juice o'erflows, 
With deeper red the full pomegranate glows; 
The branch here bends beneath the weighty pear, 
And verdant olives flourish round the year. 
The balmy spirit of the western gale, 
Eternal breathes on fruits untaught to fail: 
Each dropping pear a following pear supplies ; 
On apples, apples ; figs on figs arise : 
The same mild season gives the blooms to blow, 
The buds to harden and the fruits to grow. 

Here order'd vines in equal ranks appear, 
With all the united labours of the year ; 
Some to unload the fertile branches run, 
Some dry the black'ning clusters in the sun, 
Others to tread the liquid harvest join, 
The groaning presses foam with floods of wine, 
Here are the vines in early flower descry'd, 
Here grapes discolour'd on the sunny side, 
And there in autumn's richest purple dy'd. 

Beds of all various herbs, for ever green, 
In beauteous order terminate the scene." 

Odyssey, Book VII. 



TOWN OF CORF [J. 179 

Olive oil is the principal product ; 800,000 jars being made 
annually. 

The balania or valania, the acorn of the quercus cegilops, and 
a valuable dyestuff, is very plentiful. Wheat, barley, oats, and 
flax, are also raised. The Cyprus, palm, myrtle, rosemary, agnus 
castus, cactus indicus, hyosciamus, colchicum, momordica ela- 
terium, ricinus communis, smilax aspera, and scilla maritima, 
are likewise to be numbered among the vegetable productions. 
Moreover, honey, wax, currants, and cotton, are made in abun- 
dance for foreign and domestic use. 

Animals. — There are very few except the domestic ones. From 
some cause dogs are scarce, but I am inclined to believe that this is 
not owing to the climate so much as to neglect. However, Dr. Hen- 
nen, who lived on the island for some time, and has WTitten a minute 
account of it, in his Topography of the Ionian Isles, states positively 
that they do not live, and seems to ascribe it altogether to the 
climate. Whether this, or something else, may be the cause of 
these animals not thriving, and rather tending to decrease than 
increase, I will not undertake to say ; but it is certainly very sin- 
gular that they require there such care in their breeding, and 
whilst in all other countries they increase so rapidly, though 
neglected, that it is necessary to drown their young, or to destroy 
them when they become grown. Only few cattle are raised, and 
the greater part of those slaughtered are brought from the coast 
of Albania. The latter, after being stall-fed for a while, yield beef 
of excellent quality. 

Birds of prey are scarce, but there are a plenty of others, as of 
storks, herons, ducks, partridges, woodcocks, pigeons, &c. 

Of fish there is a great variety, and vast quantities are caught 
and sold for home consumption, and for exportation after being 
salted, which can be done at little expense, as salt is manufac- 
tured in the island on an extensive scale. Among the best fish are 
the whiting, mullet, plaice, sole, perch, and mackerel ; and of the 
ordinary, are the bonito, dolphin, pilot fish, cuttle fish, johndory, 
crab, and craw fish. 

The fisheries are along the coast of the island and that of Alba- 
nia, and especially in the bay of Bucintro. Besides the fish them- 
selves, the roes are cured and exported. These constitute the 
botargo, a delicious relish, made by salting, oiling, and smoking, 
and then compressing the roes together into a solid mass. 

Town of Corfu. — This is situated on the eastern side of the 
island, and upon a peninsula, projecting into the bay, and having 
a harbour on both its northern and southern side. This is the 
modern town, or that built by the Venitians, and is about a mile to 
the north of the peninsula on which stood the ancient Corcyra. 
Corfu contains about 8000 inhabitants within its walls ; but includ- 
ing those of the adjacent villages, Saint Roque, Potamo, Castrades, 
and Manduchio, about 15,000; which is nearly the fourth of the 



180 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

whole population of the island ; it being estimated that this amounts 
to 62,000. This town is exceedingly well fortified, having high, 
thick, stone walls on the land side, and rendered impregnable 
by deep and broad moats. Overlooking the walls is the inaccessi- 
ble Castle of Neuf rising a hundred feet above the town ; and to 
the east of this, on the extremity of the peninsula, is the citadel, 
w r hich is separated from the town by a moat of immense depth, 
and connecting the waters of the two harbours. The citadel has 
at each end a conical rock, rising from 120 to 150 feet above the 
level of the water. On the eastern one is a battery ; on the western 
a telegraph and light-house ; and between the two, on a level, is 
the Military Hospital, a large, neat, and commodious building, 
recently erected. Below the hospital, next to the northern harbour 
are the barracks, which are large enough for 1200 men. Oppo- 
site the barracks is the anchorage for large vessels ; and a little 
further out is the small island of Vido, on which a very strong 
and extensive fort has been lately built to defend the northern har- 
bour. 

The citadel is connected with the town by a drawbridge; and from 
its two rocks it commands a prospect of the island, Albania, the bay 
and straits, almost unrivalled for beauty and magnificence. Be- 
tween the moat and town is the esplanade, or Square of St. Antonio. 
It is near a half mile round, surrounded by acacias, which form a 
charming shade ; it has the palace of the governor at its northern 
extremity, and, on one side, a fine statue of Schullemberg, the 
Venetian commander who defended the place against the Turks in 
1716. This square is the parade ground. 

Of the town itself little need be said, it being so small and con- 
taining no objects worthy of special notice. It has a Civil, Foundling, 
and Magdalen Hospital, which do not deserve description; and 
I will, therefore, pass on to the climate and diseases of the island. 

Of the former I cannot speak from personal observation, not hav- 
ing had time during the two short visits paid the island to make any 
accurate observations regarding it ; but according to Dr. Hennen 
and others it is an unhealthy one, in its being hot, damp, and 
variable. Its proximity to the lofty mountains of Albania, which are 
until a late period in the spring covered with snow, must materially 
influence the climate, and subject it, when the wind blows 
from the eastward, to sudden and great changes. Of diseases I 
will say as little as of the climate. Those decidedly prevalent, and 
to be considered the most common, are remittent and intermittent 
fevers ; which have most fruitful sources in the malaria of the fens, 
low grounds, and ponds of water at the back of the town and near 
the site of the ancient city. The remittents prevail in summer, in- 
termittents in autumn, both among the natives and the foreigners, 
the most of whom are the English troops, who, perhaps, are 
more affected from exposure while on guard at night, and from 
their being employed, when not on duty, in the construction of 



TOWN OF CORFU. 181 

roads. Judging from the account given me by a soldier, the 
fatigue alone is sufficient to exhaust the system, and predispose 
it to these diseases on the slightest exposure to an exciting 
cause; for he stated that he had, as others, to labour on the roads 
one day, and to stand guard the next. He complained most 
bitterly of the hardship of such duty ; and by his thin form, sunken 
countenance, sallow and sun-burnt complexion, gave strong evi- 
dence of the truth of his assertions, and of his not being inclined 
to exaggerate his sufferings. If this routine of duty has been 
constantly maintained, we can no longer be surprised that so many 
of the soldiers are afflicted with these fevers, and that it is necessary 
to send the sick to convalesce at Malta. Such hard and incessant 
labour even in a cool and healthy country would be quite enough 
to wear out any body of troops ; but in one where the thermometer 
rarely descends to 44°, and sometimes rises as high as 90°, and 
where the air is for a great part of the year overcharged with 
malaria, they must not only be exhausted, but also rendered 
sickly and ineffective. It is rather strange, that when the causes 
of sickness among them are so apparent, that a change is not 
made in their tasks and duties, and other prophylactic measures 
adopted to secure them from disease, and preserve them in their 
efficiency. The loss of 2000 French soldiers in the excavation 
of a small and short canal, a small distance in the interior, 
should have been sufficient evidence of the insalubrity of the 
country, and served as a warning to the English commanders to 
keep their soldiers within the walls, and not to expose them unne- 
cessarily to the pestiferous atmosphere of the country, nor to make 
them more susceptible to disease, by requiring them to perform the 
duties of soldiers and the tasks of day labourers. 



16* 



182 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 






ARCHIPELAGO. 



A lthough the islands forming this group generally present a barren 
appearance, yet some of them are very productive, and taken 
altogether they are unrivalled in richness and variety of scenery. 
Setting aside the delightful associations in the mind to which their 
history gives rise, they must still continue to please, presenting 
as they do everything which can gratify the sight. Their 
rocky, peaked mountains, deep ravines, fertile valleys, and terraced 
hills, covered with cottages, villages, and fruit trees, form the most 
enchanting prospects. 

These islands are too numerous to be described separately or 
minutely, and therefore, with the exception of a few of them, they 
will be spoken of in a general manner. Most of them have a 
volcanic aspect, especially the smaller ones, their bases being 
of primitive or secondary limestone, with some granite, tufa, 
and other stone. The soil upon the hills and sides of the moun- 
tains, consists of red and yellow clay, intermixed with more or 
less sand and gravel. Limestone being so abundant, lime of course 
forms a very important part of its substance, rendering it well 
suited for the production of wheat, barley, and other things which 
require a warm and dry soil. Their chief products are these articles, 
and cotton, oranges, lemons, legumes, grapes, figs, silk, currants, 
mastic, wax, honey, salt, and cheese. 

Besides the trees producing the fruits mentioned, are the myrtle, 
the quercus cegilops, the mulberry, oleander, and others; but none 
of them form forests, except the olive and mulberry, and these are 
artificial. Medicinal plants are rare. 

Of animals, most are met with which are seen in other parts of 
the Mediterranean. Hogs, sheep, goats, dogs, asses, and mules, are 
the principal domestic ones ; cattle and horses are scarce, particu- 
larly on the smaller islands, where there is no pasturage, and little 
herbage on which they could subsist. It sometimes happens that 
the goats run wild, and an abundance of these are found on Anti- 
Milo, where they are hunted and killed for food by the inhabitants 
of Milo. The former island being a lofty, precipitous rock, the 
goats there continue to live and increase, it not being possible, were 
it desired, to exterminate them, from the great difficulty with which 
they are reached. Fleeing from point to point, from precipice to 
precipice, much skill in shooting, and great agility are requisite in 
the huntsmen. One of these goats, which I saw offered for sale, 



CLIMATE OF THE ARCHIPELAGO. 183 

had been caught by wounding him in the spine. He was uncom- 
monly large, and had horns of immense length and thickness, 
rising nearly vertically from the head. In other respects he was 
like the ordinary goats of the islands. Except these, wild animals of 
any kind are very scarce, and those of the carnivorous order may 
be said to be almost entirely wanting. 

Of birds, there are a plenty of the common domestic species, and 
also of the wild, as the gull, partridge, owl, hawk, &c, but none 
which are peculiar to these islands. Fish may exist in great 
abundance, but it is difficult to find or catch them in any way, in 
consequence of the vast depth of the water and the great abrupt- 
ness of the shores ; and therefore they cannot be said to be plentiful. 
They are certainly not so in the markets, and what are caught are 
only sufficient for home consumption. Those I saw are the same 
of which I have spoken of as belonging to places already described, 
and to avoid repetition I will not enumerate them. 

Climate. — During winter this is variable, the temperature being 
sometimes warm, and at other times unpleasantly cold ; snow occa- 
sionally falling and covering the tops of the mountains and the 
highest hills. At this season, likewise, violent squalls and storms 
are frequent, and exceedingly dangerous to vessels at sea, from the 
great difficulty in navigating them through the countless rocks and 
islands. The danger is much enhanced at night, and by the sud- 
den changes occurring in doubling and passing the high promon- 
tories. The currents also increase the danger, rendering it 
impossible for a ship to calculate precisely her position or the 
distance she sails within a given time. The chief current is that 
alluded to as being formed by the water coming out of the 
Dardanelles. In consequence of these difficulties in navigation 
shipwrecks are common. One of the most important which of 
late years has taken place was that of a French ship of the 
line, which, during a dark and stormy night, ran ashore on one 
of the Cyclades, and was totally lost. The same fate, it is 
stated, would have befallen one of our frigates had she not most 
luckily made the passage between Andros and Tinos, and suc- 
ceeded in getting through notwithstanding its narrowness. In 
September, 1831, during a similar storm from the northward, 
the John Adams was forced to run through the passage between 
Tinos and Myconi, and likewise by night. This storm was ac- 
companied with a heavy fall of rain, and was so violent that 
it caused the decks to leak in such a manner as to oblige her 
to put into the harbour of Milo to caulk them. 

During summer rain scarcely ever falls, the atmosphere is uni- 
formly cloudless — storms are very unusual ; but the wind, although 
it is variable, often blow T s strongly from the north-east. However, 
a difference exists between the winds blowing through the central 
islands and those which blow over the others near the coasts of Greece 
and Asia Minor ; for, in the latter parts, the wind dies away in 



184 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

the evening; early in the morning it blows from land; and during the 
day from the sea. The most constant wind in summer is the north- 
east, which constitutes, as mentioned, one of the Etesian winds. At 
this time, also, the south-east, or the sirocco, and the south-west 
wind blow occasionally. As regards the temperature during this 
season, at noon, it may be said to average 80°, though in the sum- 
mer of 1833 it exceeded that considerably, it averaging for fifteen 
days in July rather more than 83°, and for twenty-six days in 
August exactly 84°. 

Diseases. — Of these I have little to say, not having been able to 
pursue my inquiries as far as was necessary to become extensively 
acquainted with them. They are not numerous; the simplicity of 
life among the inhabitants, their frugality and temperance, the 
salubrity of the climate, and the rockiness and elevation of the 
islands, all being calculated to decrease their number. Pulmonary 
complaints, hepatic and febrile affections, are the most general 
of them. Plague, although these islands are so near Turkey, 
seldom occurs, and when it does, according to accounts, is always 
imported from that country. Since Otho has become King of 
Greece, the islands belonging to it have been protected by quaran- 
tine from the incursions of this disease, and now it is never known 
to prevail extensively in any of them ; it being confined to the 
lazarettos. 

Inhabitants. — Since the revolution they have been gradually 
increasing in number and prosperity. Being now in the enjoyment 
of profound peace, they are rapidly improving in civilization; are 
throwing aside their ancient habits and customs, changing their 
odd and old fashioned costumes for those of Europe; and spending 
their time in commerce and agriculture, instead of piracy and blood- 
shed. 

Hydra and Syra are the two most commercial islands. The 
trade of the former is so great that, although an almost naked rock, 
it supports a population of 30,000, and employs three hundred 
vessels, many of which are of large size. The most common of 
them are brigs, having masts without tops ; and latine vessels, or 
feluccas, similar to those met with in the western part of the Medi- 
terranean, except that their bows are more elevated, and resemble 
those of the ancient galleys. These vessels are used throughout 
the Archipelago. Every person aboard them has a share in the 
profits or losses ; no one receives wages. The principal owners 
are the masters and the capitalists, who are old resident masters, and 
who lend money at a very large interest, sometimes as high as 
twenty per cent. This mode of trading is certainly attended with 
less commercial risk than that of.other countries, every man being 
directly interested in the success of an adventure; but it has been 
frequently the cause of piracies having been committed; for these 
vessels, in case of making an unprofitable voyage, are apt to supply 
all deficiences from the cargoes of one another, or from those of 
other nations. 



ISLANDS OF HYDRA AND SYRA. 185 

Wheat is the chief article of commerce, and is imported from 
Greece, Turkey, Syria, and Egypt, for exportation to France, and 
other parts in the west of Europe. Immense quantities are carried to 
Marseilles. That retained by the islanders is manufactured into flour, 
which is ground principally in windmills, there being a want of 
water power in all the islands : it is made of good quality with 
respect to sweetness, but in whiteness and fineness is inferior to 
that of this country. 

The town of Hydra stands upon a lofty hill on the northern side 
of the island, facing the main land, its harbour formed between 
them, being open to the east and w T est : and having all its houses 
white-washed and plastered its appearance is very neat. 

To the Hydriots, Greece mainly owes her freedom from the 
tyrannous sway of Turkey. They are brave, active, enterprising, 
patriotic, and excellent sailors. After the acquisition of wealth 
they return home to enjoy it, and seldom marry foreigners, pre- 
ferring their own country women to those of every other place. 
They are not distinguished, however, for humanity; but on the con- 
trary, they are warlike, rebellious, and blood-thirsty. 

The revolt which occurred among them a year ago, was caused 
by an old woman whose son was about being recruited into the 
service of King Otho against her approbation. Her distress and 
clamours created so much sympathy, that the populace delivered 
her son from the hands of the soldiers^ took up arms, forced the 
governor to save himself by taking to flight in a boat, and remained 
in a stale of rebellion until a large force had arrived from the 
continent. 

Syra being near the centre of the Archipelago, and having a 
secure harbour, is, notwithstanding its barrenness, the emporium, 
and possesses even more commerce than Hydra ; all the products of 
•the islands and adjacent regions being collected there for sale or 
barter. From an insignificant town, its capital, since the revolution 
began, has become a city containing about 20,000 inhabitants ; 
consisting of Greeks, French, English, Italians, and other people 
of Europe, who have settled there for commercial pursuits, and 
established consulates. The city is divided into two parts ; the old 
and new, or the upper and lower. The former covers the top of 
a conical hill, the latter its sides and the plain between it and the 
harbour. 

Society in Syra is much better than in any of the islands ; the 
manners of the people being more polished, and education superior, 
from the missionaries having established a press, and schools for the 
instruction of the young of both sexes. 

This island, in comparison with others, is well furnished with 
physicians there being three of them, who received their education in 
Italy. They have all the practice among the citizens of first res- 
pectability. Vaccination is employed by them, but not with 
success, I should judge, from the impurity of the matter used ; the 
wife of one of the American missionaries having told me that one 



186 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

of her children had caught the small-pox, by being inoculated 
instead of vaccinated, as was intended. 

Tinos is a fertile, thickly populated, and less rocky island 
than most of the others. It is cultivated from the water's edge to 
the summit ; and the walls extending transversely across the hills 
and mountains to form the terraces, and prevent the washing away 
of the soil, have the appearance of steps of prodigious height and 
length. It contains 65,000 inhabitants, who are distributed in 
sixty-five villages, scattered over its sides, and in its capital, 
Saint Nicholas; a town of large size, well laid off, with a handsome 
church, and built on a plain opposite Myconi. Tinos produces 
grain, silk, and mastic, in great abundance. The two last articles 
are the principal ones of exportation, and afford a considerable 
revenue. The inhabitants are famed for industry, and manufacture 
a large quantity of raw silk for foreign markets and their own 
use. 

Formerly the poorer class sent their daughters in great numbers 
to Turkey and other countries to be employed as servants. After 
having served for some years they returned home with their wages, 
and married. 

To the south of Tinos, at the distance of about six miles, are 
the Delian Isles, which though uncultivated and uninhabited are, 
on account of their celebrity and antiquities, highly interesting. 
They consist of the greater Delos, called Rhenia or Lavato ; the 
smaller Delos ; and the two small islands of Rhamatiari, lying in the 
channel between them. 

On Rhenia are the ruins of a town, and a vast quantity of marble ; 
the remains of palaces and temples, which once adorned it, but 
now hardly have one stone resting upon another. Their splendidly 
festooned altars* are seen upset, strewed along the shores, exposing 
their admirably sculptured ornaments to the corroding influence of 
the air and weather. Within the distance of a few hundred yards 
I saw six of these altars, of the purest white marble, and executed 
in the best style, thus exposed. 

On Delos proper, or the smaller, the antiquities are much more 
numerous and extensive; its central portion being completely 
covered with the ruins of the city, and those of the magnificent 
temples of Diana, Apollo, and Latona. Their elegantly sculptured 
columns, architraves, and cornices, are scattered in confused 
heaps from the summit of Mount Cynthus to the harbour. In the 
midst of the ruins of the temple of Apollo, which stood nearest the 
water, are seen the miserable fragments of the great statue of the 
god himself, which was presented by the people of Naxos. This 
gigantic statue is six feet across the shoulders, and must have been at 
least twenty-four feet high. Nothing but its size has prevented it from 
being carried off to be shown as a curiosity. The only remains 
of this statue are the upper part of the body, and the pelvis with a 

* These altars are encircled by bas relief festoons of flowers, having head of 
sheep intervening. 



MOUNT CYNTHUS. 187 

portion of the thighs. The former composes one fragment, the 
latter another. No traces of the head, arms, and legs are to be 
seen; and it is altogether so mutilated that by a superficial observer 
it might be passed unnoticed. At the back of the temple is the dry 
bed of an artificial lake, in which sea fights were represented. It 
is seventy-two paces wide, one hundred and two long, of an ellip- 
tical form, and encompassed by a low, dilapidated stone wall. 
Near this lake is the gymnasium, which was built of granite, and 
has six columns yet standing. 

At the foot of Mount Cynthus is the theatre, which is more per- 
fect than any other edifice. It is semicircular, has seats of granite 
and walls of white marble, and is large enough to accommodate 
several thousand spectators, even in its present ruinous state. To 
the north of Cynthus, in a plain, is the race-course, or stadium, 
marked at one end by a low column of marble, like the pedestal 
of a statue or an altar, on which is a long Greek inscription, almost 
defaced and illegible. 

Cynthus itself is a conical hill, rising abruptly in the centre of the 
island. It is composed of huge masses of granite ; and being 
very high commands an extensive and magnificent prospect of the 
adjacent islands, which, from appearing to form a circle around it, 
have been named Cyclades. There are three zigzag roads cut 
through the rock from the base to the summit of the mountain. Over 
one of them, half way up, is an arch of immense blocks of granite 
resting against each other at top, like the rafters of a house. At 
the foot of the mountain, near the theatre, is a spring of pure, sweet, and 
cold water, obscured from view by surrounding rocks; and towards 
the northern extremity of the island, near the top of a bare hemi- 
spherical hill, is the celebrated fountain of Inopus, improperly called 
by some antiquarians a river, whose waters were said to rise and fall 
with those of the Nile. Others supposed it was this river coming 
from Egypt beneath the sea. The fountain is situated in a 
hollow, about three hundred feet in diameter, and encompassed by 
a stone fence a foot or two high. The w 7 ater gushes forth from a 
small hollow in the centre of the large one, and surrounded by an- 
other wall, partly artificial partly natural. This fountain, having no 
outlet for its water, during the winter, when it rains, evaporation is 
less, and its sources being more abundantly supplied, it overflows 
and fills both hollows. From this circumstance, which is not at all 
wonderful or unaccountable, has arisen the fable mentioned. Some 
writers state that Apollo and Diana were born near the fountain ; 
others that they were born on Cynthus. Who are correct I will not 
undertake to say, but content myself with merely remarking that 
if Latona was delivered at the fountain she was very "much 
exposed to the weather, and if on the mountain she must have 
found the rocks to form a bed most uncomfortably hard and 
rough. 

No minerals were found, and the only metallic substances were 
antique copper coins. 

Except grass, weeds, and bushes, vegetable productions were 



188 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

equally scarce. No trees nor medicinal plants were seen. The 
only animals met with were lizards; a large yellow spotted snake, 
like the mockeson, which was concealed between two rocks, and 
drew my attention by his hissing while I was lying upon one of 
them ; a few birds, and a flock of sheep belonging to two shep- 
herds who had brought them over from Myconi to graze. In 
fine, Delos is truly desolate, and has a most melancholy aspect ; 
although the want of tombstones, mausoleums, and *catacombs, 
show that it is not the habitation of the dead, and was intended 
only for the living. It is so small, so unsusceptible of cultivation, 
that it is capable of supporting very few inhabitants ; and we can 
only account for its having had in ancient times an immense 
population by the great concourse of people assembling there to 
worship having made it a place of considerable commerce. The 
phenomenon respecting the rise and fall of the Inopus may have 
first rendered it a place of resort ; but it is probable, that the chief 
cause of this w r as the fable of the island being the birth place of 
Diana and Apoilo, two favourite deities. The fable was, we may 
suppose, invented by the owners of the island for the purpose of in- 
creasing the value of property, as the superstition of the people was 
such, at that period, that they were ready to believe every thing won- 
derful regarding their gods and goddesses, and would flock with 
eagerness to the place where they were said to have been born 
and were worshipped. 

There are only two other islands of which I shall speak; Milo 
and Scio. The first one is remakable for its harbour and the 
excellence of its pilots, who enjoy a monopoly in the navigation of 
all European and American vessels bound up the Dardanelles to 
the eastern coast of Greece, and Turkey in Europe, to the western 
coast of Turkey in Asia ; or which intend cruising in the Archi- 
pelago. Milo is about sixty miles in circumference, and has a moun- 
tain at its north-western part of 2000 feet in height. This 
mountain is one of the best landmarks for ships, is known by its 
naked, peaked summit, and may be distinguished with ease in 
clear weather for fifty miles. Milo is evidently of volcanic origin, 
and its harbour appears to be an immense crater broken down on 
one side, and permitting the ingress of the sea. The productions 
are grain, cotton, and the fruits mentioned as being common to all 
the islands ; but the female part of the population being employed 
in domestic concerns, and the men devoting themselves, almost ex- 
clusively, to piloting, none of these articles are raised in abundance. 
Pomegranates, which were of old so plentiful that they were 
emblematical of the island, and impressed on their coin, now are 
scarcely to be seen. 

Medicinal plants are scarce, and there are no groves nor forests; 
but in the spring the fields are beautifully enamelled with daisies, 
red poppies resembling tulips, and many other wild flowers. 

The most remarkable geological production is the earth-cimolite, 

* No person was allowed to be buried on the island. 



ISLANDS OF MILO AND SGIO. 189 

which is used by the inhabitants in place of soap. An abundance of 
this substance is to be obtained in the hills, near the harbour. 

Population. — This is estimated at four or five thousand, the 
greater part of whom live in the town of Milo, or Clima ; the only 
one on the island. This town is perched, like an eagle's nest, on the 
top of a conical mountain, rising about a thousand feet above the 
sea, on the eastern side of the harbour. The ruins of the ancient 
town are between this and the mountain, to which it is stated the 
inhabitants fled to escape the pestiferous atmosphere of the low 
grounds, especially of those at the head of the harbour, which are 
so productive of miasmata and fevers that they cannot be inhabited. 
The streets of Clima are mere allies, and wretchedly filthy ; its 
houses are of stone, plastered and whitewashed, and have terraced 
roofs, like those of the other islands. It had no physicians, sur- 
geons, nor apothecaries, when I was last there; and what it had 
of the former, previously, may be judged of by the account given 
me by a pilot, who said : — " that 'spose doctors no come, no sick- 
ness ; 'spose they come, plenty of sickness." However, I know 
from the numerous demands for my services on part of the people, 
both aboard ship and when I was visiting the town, that this 
account is exaggerated. I was called upon not only for advice, 
but for medicine ; particularly for quinine, of which little or none 
was to be had on the island. 

The inhabitants subsist principally on olives, bread, fruits, vege- 
tables, and fish, either fresh or salted. These are caught mostly, if 
not altogether, with the hook and line. The best fisheries are 
about the rocks in the sea. The ordinary mode, I understood, of 
catching them, was by throwing out a large line of several hun- 
dred feet in length, to which were attached a number of small 
lines, armed with the hooks. Olive oil also forms an essential 
item in their food, being eaten with bread, fish, and other articles. 
Flesh enters very little into their nourishment. That of goats and 
mutton is most used ; beef, though they have cattle, is scarce, little 
eaten, and of poor quality, both as respects fatness and flavour. 

The other common articles of diet are poultry, eggs, milk, and 
cheese, but none of these are very plentiful or more abundant than 
are necessary for the consumption of the inhabitants themselves. 

The ordinary drinks are rain and spring water, and domestic 
wine, which is very weak, and unadulterated by the addition of 
distilled spirits. Alcohol indeed is rarely drunk in any other man- 
ner than as it exists naturally in wine, and the people are justly 
entitled to the reputation of being temperate. They are moreover 
frugal and industrious, and though not commercial, yet by their 
skill in piloting they prove of great service to the people who are, 
and trade in the parts mentioned. 

The men are of middle stature, well made, have brown com- 
plexions, coal black hair and eyes, regular features and intelligent 
countenances: their forms are athletic; temperament bilious and 

17 



190 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

nervous. Obesity is extremely uncommon among them. The 
women are like them, and generally handsome, having fine glossy 
black hair ; brilliant, large, and animated eyes ; and fair complexions, 
from the use of veils and their seldom going without doors, or being 
exposed to the sun. In costume the men differ ; some wearing the 
Greek, others the European ; but the women retain the former, 
wearing head-dresses, white veils, muslin gowns made after a 
peculiar style, belts of great breadth in front and narrow behind ; and 
morocco slippers. In disposition both sexes are mild and amiable ; 
the constant association of the men with the most polished nations, 
having had decidedly a beneficial influence in removing the irras- 
cibility and irritability belonging to the Greeks, and in rendering them 
civilized. In intelligence likewise they are superior to most of the 
other islanders; the men are particularly so as respects foreign 
languages, several of which they speak with fluency, probably from 
the absolute necessity of knowing them when they are employed 
in piloting; and the many advantages they have in learning them 
in the vessels aboard which they serve. 

Of Scio I have not much to say, as my opportunities of becoming 
acquainted with it were limited. In size, beauty, and fertility, it is 
unsurpassed by any of the other islands. It is twenty-seven miles 
long, ten broad, and has a chain of ash grey, barren mountains 
extending from one end to the other ; but has its hills, plains, and 
valleys cultivated in the best manner, and covered with the richest 
vegetation. Its southern end is a continuous wheat field, intersected 
only by terraces ; and the eastern side is covered with groves of lemon, 
orange, fig, and olive trees, interspersed with houses and cottages. 
The town of Scio is on that side, and extends for four or five miles 
along the coast. The buildings being mostly separate, and surrounded 
by trees and shrubbery, present a most lovely prospect; but many 
of them are deserted and in ruins, having been burnt during the 
dreadful massacre of 1822, when thousands of their wretched 
inhabitants were butchered in cold blood by their merciless enemies, 
the Turks. 

The climate is salubrious and delightful ; but a great difference 
must necessarily exist between that of the plains and mountains, 
and between that of the northern and southern side. In winter the 
southern side being shielded from the northerly w r inds by the 
mountains is more agreeable than the other side, but in summer 
the reverse of this happens, for the northern side being then 
protected from the southerly winds is cooler and more pleasant. 
A similar difference exists between the climate of the eastern and 
western sides, for the former enjoys the south-easterly winds in 
winter, and the latter the sea breeze in the summer; but in the 
winter neither has much the advantage, for then one side is shielded 
from the north-westerly, the other from the north-easterly winds. 

Productions — In all those of the soil this island equals, if it does not 
surpass the other islands; and lemons, oranges, figs, olives, grapes, 



SMYRNA, AND THE ADJACENT PARTS. 191 

and grain, are most plentiful, and of the finest quality. Enough 
of these articles is made fur domestic consumption, and also for 
supplying foreign markets. Silk likewise is made in large quanti- 
ties, and is a most valuable article of exportation. 

I might proceed, and speak at large of the many objects of in- 
terest about this charming island ; might descant on its marbles its 
lovely bay, that of the opposite coast of Asia, on which stands 
Chesme, where the Turkish was annihilated by the Russian fleet in 
1770; and might describe the bashaw's fountains; Mount Epos, over- 
hanging the town ; and the school of Homer, a rock where that divine 
poet instructed the youth of Scio, which is one of the seven places 
claiming his birth; but I will here stop, after observing that this 
island seems to possess almost every charm, every attraction which 
can make life desirable and happy. 



SMYRNA, AND THE ADJACENT PARTS. 

Smyrna, the Ismir of the Turks, and the great emporium of 
Turkey in Asia, is situated at the head of a gulf bearing the same 
name, and which runs nearly from west to east. This city is built 
partly upon the side of a very lofty hill, meriting the name of a 
mountain ; partly upon a plain extending five or six miles in an 
easterly direction to the foot of an elevated ridge of mountains, which 
bounds the gulf on the north and the east. Through this plain flows 
the Meles, a rapid and crystal stream, which tradition asserts was 
the favourite resort of the immortal Homer, to the honor of whose 
birth Smyrna lays claim. Having a rich alluvial soil, being 
covered at the back of the city with gardens in the highest state 
of cultivation, producing a vast quantity of vegetable matter, and 
being constantly in a state of great humidity from snow, rain, the 
Meles, and the water supplied by Persian wheels from the innu- 
merable wells in the gardens, this plain is an inexhaustible store of 
miasmata, and may be very justly called unhealthy. 

Towards the north-eastern part of the city, and where the Meles 
disembogues, there is almost a morass, and the land is so low that 
many of the houses are built upon piles ; and wooden causeways are 
necessary for passing in wet weather from one part of the Frank 
quarter to the other. 

Between the mountains overhanging the gulf on the north and 
its shore is a perfectly level plain, which is in part finely cultivated, 
and in part overflowed; and converted into pans for the manufac- 
ture of common salt, immense pyramids of which, being always 
visible, may serve for landmarks to vessels navigating the gulf. 
The face of the country on the south and west side of the gulf cor- 
responds with that on the east and north, in its having high mountains 



192 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

overlooking alluvial and fertile plains. Ten or twelve miles below 
Smyrna, on the south side, is a mountain with two naked conical 
rocks at top, called the Two Brothers. At the foot of this moun- 
tain is the castle of Sandjack or Saint James, and opposite to this the 
narrows which it defends, and Cape Salines, an elongation of the 
plain on the north side. On the west side, running north and south, 
is a long, naked, lofty mountain, forming Cape Black or Kara- 
bouroun, and the southern side of the entrance to the gulf. This 
cape is also remarkable for a high conical rock near its end, called 
Mimras, and forming a most conspicuous landmark, always noticed 
in sailing directions. Ten miles to the south-east of the cape are 
the small town of Dourlack or Vourla, the islands bearing its former 
name; a watering-place for ships, supplied by a stream of cold, 
clear, and sweet water, brought by a small aqueduct from a moun- 
tain a mile or two back from the shore, and the ruins of the 
ancient city of Clazomince, the birth-place of Anaxagoras. These 
ruins are upon the mainland, and upon a small island once united to 
it by a stone causeway now dilapidated. Some miles from Vourla 
is a sulphur spring, whose water is highly prized, and much 
drank by the inhabitants during the summer. To the north of this 
spring, near the castle of Saint James, and at the foot of the moun- 
tain, is a hot spring of great celebrity, but not much resorted to in 
consequence of the want of suitable accommodations to visiters. 
The sulphur spring,likewise, is but little resorted to, except by persons 
living near it, from the same cause. Were houses of a proper 
kind put up at these springs, and converted into hotels, there is no 
doubt that they would become places of great resort for health and 
pleasure to the citizens of Smyrna. 

The gulf being completely enclosed by mountains, the climate 
is warm, and the evaporation from its surface is very great. The 
water evaporates during the day, rises into the upper region of the 
atmosphere, condenses into clouds, and obscures the mountains ; or 
as night comes on descends in a mist and overshadows the city. 
If it be summer this mist becomes a heavy dew ; and if it be winter, 
the clouds, after hanging for some time about the summits of the 
mountains, cover them with snow, or drench them and the plains 
with copious showers. 

In winter there is so much rain, that some allege it has been 
known to fall for fifty successive days ; but in this statement there 
is probably an exaggeration. 

The climate of Smyrna in the summer and fall is hot and dry, 
in the winter damp and cold ; but I have known during the summer 
heavy rains to occur accompanied with thunder and lightning, and 
during the winter great vicissitudes in the temperature of the air; 
the thermometer varying as much as 30° F. The temperature differs 
accordingly as the wind is from the north or the south. In winter, 
when it blows from the north-east, the weather is damp, piercingly 
cold, and frequently attended by falls of snow, which commonly 
take place on the mountains, but sometimes in the plains ; and I 



CLIMATE OF SMYRNA. 



193 



was informed by a citizen of Smyrna, that some years ago it fell 
to the depth of eighteen inches, and remained on the ground for 
three weeks. The coldness and dampness of this wind may be 
ascribed to its traversing the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmora, 
and then blowing over the lofty mountains of Olympus, which even 
in August are covered with snow, and finally sweeping across the 
mountains which border on the gulf to the north. 

During the summer the inbat, or sea-breeze, comes in from the 
west regularly about 10 o'clock in the morning, and gradually in- 
creasing in force blows until 6 o'clock in the afternoon, then sub- 
sides, and is succeeded by a calm. When it blows strongly the 
tide rises from three to four feet. It is high water at Smyrna at 4 
o'clock, p.m., but this depends upon the wind ; the tide coming in 
sooner or later, and rising higher or lower according to the strength 
and direction of the former. In winter it blows very irregularly, 
and often either not at all or across or down the gulf; and, of course, 
when it blows in this direction the tide must be retarded and made 
much lower. 

The sirocco blows sometimes in the fall, and also in the winter. 
During the former season this wind is dry, during the latter is accom- 
panied with heavy showers. Clouds, like snow, collecting about the 
summit of Mount Karabouroun, are a sure sign of a change of the 
wind from the north-east to the south-east. To impart a more accurate 
knowledge of the temperature of the climate, I will give the annexed, 
summary of it, taken from my registers. I w 7 ould, however, first state, 
that, as at other places, the thermometer was kept aboard ship, and 
the temperature was ascertained at noon ; that the ships were not at 
Smyrna during the whole of each month specified, and were some- 
times at Vourla, or on their passage between the two places. Never- 
theless, as they are in nearly the same latitude, and the course going 
up and coming down from one to the other is almost direct, I do not 
think any great difference in temperature exists between them, and 
therefore this summary may be regarded as correct. 



1831. 



1833. 





Average. 


Maximum. 


Minimum, 


Medium 


July 


81° -l 


85 


84 


84^ 


August . 


78° 


78 


78 


78 


September 


78° | 


84 


71 


77| 


May 


70°m 


75 


70 


72i 


June 


78°§? 


86 


67 


76| 


July 


81°^ 


84 


80 


82 


August . 


81° f 


84 


82 


82 


September 


80° ° 


82 


78 


80 



1837. 



January . 



52° 



61 



37 



49 



1838. 



June 



79 



72 



75| 



The above was the temperature at noon and aboard ship, but it 

17* 



194 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

was higher in the afternoon, and lower at night, and therefore there 
was a greater difference between its maximum and minimum at 
those two periods of the 24 hours than existed between the maxi- 
mum and minimum at noon. Moreover, in summer it was much 
cooler on the water and the marina, where the inbat was felt in full 
force, than it was in the interior of the city where it could not be felt, 
from the impediments offered by the houses, and the great crooked- 
ness and narrowness of the streets. 

During the winter of 1835-36, the temperature was 12° below 
the freezing point, and to that was owing the general failure 
of the vintage, and of the crops of oranges and figs during the 
subsequent fall. The w r inter of 1832-33 was also severe, and 
followed by a similar disaster to the fruit; many of the orange 
trees in the neighbourhood of the city and near the mountains 
having been killed to the roots. During that winter all the orange 
trees in the garden of the American Consul's country seat at Bour- 
nabat, a favourite summer resort for the Frank population of 
Smyrna, were completely destroyed ; so that instead of having a 
crop often thousand oranges, as was customary, he had none. 

These facts are sufficient to prove that although the climate is tem- 
perate, yet it is not uniformly so, and that it is subject to vicissitudes as 
destructive to vegetation as they are detrimental to human life. How- 
ever, in spite of the climate, the dryness of the summer, the coldness 
of winter, — such is the fertility of the country between the gulf and 
mountains and in the valleys, that the market is generally supplied 
abundantly with the most delicious fruits and vegetables found in 
the eastern portion of the Mediterranean. Besides the figs, which 
every one knows are esteemed the finest in the world, the grapes, 
cherries, pomegranates, and melons, are extremely good. Grapes of 
the best quality, even the royal sultanas, which are so famous for their 
delicacy and having no seeds, may be had for a cent a pound. The 
cherries are large, of various kinds and different colours, and also 
excellent ; and as for the melons they are not to be excelled by any 
others. Indeed, the kind called cassdbar for size and flavour is un- 
equalled, and has the reputation of being the best in that or any 
other country. The olive tree grows to great perfection in the plains, 
and its fruit is of the finest quality ; but from not being properly 
preserved it is not as much liked as the olives of France and Spain, 
and its oil from not being made with care is commonly of inferior 
quality, 

The staple productions of the country are olives, figs, wheat, 
barley, cotton, flax, tobacco, and Indian corn, and a variety of 
drugs. The chief medicinal products are opium, scammony, the 
squirting cucumber, colocynth, and gallnut, but the two first articles 
are raised within the interior and at the back of the mountains, and 
the last named article is found most abundant towards the Helles- 
pont and upon the plains of Troy, particularly around the tomb of 
JEsyetes, which stands on their most elevated part. Of ordinary 
botanical productions there is an endless variety on the low 



ANTIQUITIES OF SMYRNA. 195 

grounds, but most of the mountains are either naked heaps of lime- 
stone, or are covered with bushes and dwarf trees. The mountains 
to the north of the gulf are entirely uncultivated, and almost barren ; 
whilst those to the south of it display, both on their sides and summits, 
a fine growth of forest trees, many of which are of a large size, 
and are more pleasing to the sight from the like not being seen in 
any other part of the country, nor any where in the Mediterranean, 
excepting on the south side of Mount iEtna. The myrtle is a com- 
mon tree, and is extremely odoriferous, and the oleander grows 
wild in the ravines and gullies ; its beautiful red flowers blooming, 
withering, and falling off, unadmired and unnoticed. 

Animals. — Besides the common domestic animals, the camel is 
much used, and in carrying burdens excludes the horse and mule, 
having, though perhaps not" enjoying, quite a monopoly for the 
transportation of goods and all the products of the country. The 
bison is sometimes met with, and with the farmer takes the place of 
the ox. Of wild animals the most common are the hare, hyena, and 
wild boar. Great numbers of the former are found on Long Island, 
and the latter is met with on the mountains, where it is hunted 
down and shot to supply the market, at which it is always to be 
purchased in the winter. This is still a fierce and formidable beast, 
but by the use of fire-arms it is easily killed, and is no longer 
the terror of sportsmen. Probably it has degenerated in size 
and diminished in ferocity, or is a different animal from the wild 
boar of the ancients, and that which scarred the leg of the wise 
Ulysses. When killed, it is flayed, deprived of a portion of the ex- 
terior fat, and then carried to market. Its flesh is white, tender, 
sweet, and well flavoured. 

Of birds I will merely remark, that woodcocks, red-legged 
partridges, pigeons, beccaficos, ducks, geese, fowls, and turkeys; 
and of fish, flounders, mullet, holybut, and a great many others, stock 
the market, and can be had at very low prices. Take it altogether, 
Smyrna affords the best provisions in the Mediterranean, and may 
be said to have by far the best market; possessing a greater variety 
of articles of food, and having them in greater abundance than any 
x)ther city upon the borders of that sea. 

Smyrna has few objects calculated to gratify the curiosity of the 
stranger and to excite much interest. The most conspicuous of 
them are the ruins of an extensive Genoese Castle, crowning the hill 
which overlooks the city; the mosques, with their slender and pointed 
minarets; the barracks at its west end, which are capaple of accom- 
modating two thousand men ; the houses of the Frank (Christian) 
consuls, extending along the marina at the east end, and displaying 
the flags of their different nations; and, finally, the groves of high, 
sharp topped, dark green, and gloomy cypress trees shading the 
vast cemeteries to the west and south of the city. 

The only antiquities worthy of notice are the remains of the 
theatre, on the side of the hill, of the church of St. John, or of the first 
church in Asia ; and the tomb of Tantalus, which stands upon an 



196 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

eminence on the northern side of the head of the gulf. This 
tomb, though it cannot be proved to be that of the person whose 
name it bears, is certainly that of some very distinguished indivi- 
dual ; being a mound thirty five paces in diameter, with a flat top, 
and composed chiefly of rough and hewn granite. The vault is in 
the centre ; and is an arched chamber, fifteen feet long and six wide, 
but of uncertain height, being filled up by rubbish, which also block- 
ing up the door at one end renders it necessary to enter through 
the ceiling by one of the two holes which were made at the time when 
the vault was first explored. The fact of this mound being a tomb 
was ascertained only a few years ago. Nothing being known 
concerning the period at which it was made, nor the person for 
whom it was built, proves it to be of great antiquity, and probably 
to have been made about the time of the Trojan war, when it was 
customary to inter heroes and other eminent men after this man- 
ner. It is true that the tombs of that period were mostly formed 
of earth, and of a conical form, and that this one is a truncated cone, 
and principally composed of stone, but nevertheless some of the 
tombs then were made of both earth and stone, as are those of 
Agamemnon, and other monarchs of Messene and Argos. More- 
over the tomb of Tantalus, being so near Smyrna has probably been 
reduced to its present flattened form, by the removal of the earth 
from the top for the purpose of procuring stone for building; it 
being much easier to obtain it by doing this than by quarrying. 

In Smyrna there are no places of public amusement; no operas, 
no theatres, no public squares nor walks save the marina, which is 
only about tw 7 o hundred yards long, and from fifty to sixty feet 
broad. On festival days the inhabitants flock to the cemeteries, 
and to the caravan bridge, a small- one over the Meles, and while 
sitting upon benches, and the stone fences, beneath the shade of the 
willows, sycamores, and cypresses, they sip coffee, and smoke their 
pipes until evening, with the additional amusement of listening to 
the melodious notes of the guitar and violins, played by musicians 
who are compensated by general contribution. 

For the Franks, or Europeans, the chief place of resort and 
diversion is the Casino, a large and handsome edifice, built and 
owned by a Greek. In the second story are a billiard-room, two 
parlours, and a spacious hall used commonly for a reading-room 
and exchange, but in winter also used for the balls, which are given 
throughout that season by the subscribers to the establishment. Any 
subscriber has the liberty of introducing into it as many strangers 
as he thinks proper, and once introduced they always retain the 
privilege of resorting there. Foreign officers belonging to the men- 
of-war in port are always invited to the balls, and if they wish it they 
can get otherwise introduced to the Casino without difficulty, where 
they are sure of being received politely, and becoming acquainted 
with the most respectable part of the Frank population. 

The Greeks have likewise a Casino on a similar plan, but on a 



HOSPITALS OF SMYRNA. 197 

more contracted scale, the building being smaller and the accommo- 
dations not so good. 

Smyrna contains, it is supposed, 150,000 inhabitants; who 
consist of Franks, Jews, Greeks, Turks, and Armenians, and dwell 
in distinct quarters. The Frank quarter is next to the marina, and 
is much the handsomest, the houses being larger and better built. 
They run back from the water to Frank street, and instead of 
having streets between, have passages beneath them and connect- 
ing their courts together. This mode of building is objectionable, 
for several reasons; the chief of which are that the privacy of the 
houses is in a measure destroyed by the passages and courts 
being common thoroughfares, and, that the doors both next the 
harbour and Frank street being closed at night, put passengers to 
great inconvenience, and entirely prevent ventilation. This, 
indeed, is very imperfect during the day; and if any person be- 
lieves that narrow streets render a city cooler, he will soon change 
his opinion by walking through Frank and other back streets to 
breathe their close and sultry atmosphere, and then going through 
one of the passages to inhale the sea-breeze upon the marina. 

The houses here, like the rest in the city, are built either of stone, or 
of frames filled in with stone or brick, and then planked or plastered 
over. They are all covered with brick-tile, and have the upper 
stories and roofs projecting over the streets, so that they are much 
nearer above than below. This plan of building being adopted in 
other quarters, even where the streets are only ten or fifteen feet 
wide, daylight is almost as completely excluded as sunshine, and 
a person of common agility may easily jump from roof to roof. 

Of other quarters I will not speak at large, merely observing, 
that all of them are very confined, and have contracted, dirty 
streets; but those of the Jewish quarter for filth and dampness bear 
the palm, for they are disgusting both to the sight and smell, and 
it is difficult to believe that rational beings could voluntarily inhabit 
such sinks of uncleanliness. The Jews doing so serves to prove 
that habit can make us reconciled to the most offensive objects. 

Besides the mosques the principal public buildings are the hos- 
pitals, of which there are eight ; the Dutch, Austrian, French, En- 
glish, Greek, Armenian, Turkish, and the Catholic and Protestant 
Hospital, or the European Lazaretto. Of these buildings I will 
not speak particularly, but refer those who desire to know the 
minutiae concerning them to the Number of the American Journal 
of the Medical Sciences, for August 1 837. 

Each hospital was built, and is supported at the expense of the 
nation whose name it bears, except the European, which is for the 
benefit of all the Frank population, and is supported by them in 
common ; all poor persons who are affected within or have been 
exposed to plague, being sent there to be cured or quarantined. 

It is a subject of much regret that, notwithstanding the great 
number of American ships resorting to Smyrna every year, no 
hospital or other place has been provided for the reception of such 



198 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

seamen as need medical or surgical treatment, and that whenever 
any of them get sick they are obliged to remain aboard, and suffer 
accordingly, or to obtain admittance into the hospital of some 
other nation. If we had had one when the small-pox broke out 
aboard of the United States, the seamen infected might have been 
sent to it, and not taken to sea to communicate the disease to all 
persons in the ship who were unprotected. That we should have 
a hospital at Smyrna, or in its vicinity, is not only due to humanity, 
but to the interests of commerce, to that of the navy, and of the 
whole nation. Adopting the method of other Christian nations one 
might be erected and maintained at a moderate expense. If this 
could not be done at the public charge it might be by a moderate de- 
duction from the pay of the seamen who should be sent to it as 
patients. For medical officers, some in the navy would be always 
ready to serve on condition that they will be considered engaged 
in active service. 

Bagnios. — Of these there are a number. The principal one is that 
by the bazaars ; and the description of it will serve for that of all the 
others. It is a spacious edifice, divided into two grand apartments 
with a small communicating one between them. The roof of the house 
is composed of two domes, one being over each of the grand apart- 
ments and forming its ceiling. In the one next the street are ottomans, 
shelves for towels and counterpanes, and a bar where the keeper 
sits to take charge of watches and other valuables, and to deal out 
refreshments to the bathers. The two other apartments are for 
bathing, but the one most used is the other large one, which is at 
the back of the building. This apartment has a white marble floor, 
raised to a platform in the centre ; a small chamber with an open 
top in each corner ; fountains of cold and warm water on its sides ; ' 
and numerous holes in its ceiling to admit air and light and allow 
the vapour to escape. Beneath its floor are the furnaces and 
boilers. Water is supplied by pipes passing beneath the city from 
the aqueduct. 

A person wishing to bathe enters the front apartment, makes 
choice of an ottoman, deposits his clothes upon it, gives his watch 
to the keeper, wraps a towel around his head, another about the 
shoulders, and a third about the loins, and putting on a pair of 
clogged slippers, walks into the back apartment, or stops in 
the small one. Entering the former he is forthwith surrounded 
by a crowd of servants perfectly naked with the exception of 
the loins, and recommending their different places for bathing 
with as much earnestness as drivers do their hacks. Having 
chosen a place, which is either in a chamber upon the central 
platform, or on one of the low ones at the sides of the hall, he 
lies down upon a towel and throws off those with which he is 
wrapped. Oppressive heat and an earnest sense of suffocation 
seize him, owing to the sudden change from fresh air into an 
atmosphere charged with dense steam arising from the heated 



APOTHECARIES AND PHYSICIANS OF SMYRNA. 199 

water which issues from the fountains, and runs over the floors; but 
he is relieved from all unpleasant symptoms as soon as he begins 
to perspire. This quickly occurs, and in a few minutes a profuse 
sweat breaks forth and continues during his stay in the bath. As soon 
as the perspiration takes place, the servant, or telacke, covers his right 
or left hand, as most convenient, with a black hair bag, like a 
mitten and rubs him from head to foot with such skill and force 
that the dead cuticle is rolled up into enormous cylinders, some- 
times several inches long and as large as quills of good size. The 
telacke next fills a basin with soapsuds, throws them over the 
bather ; then taking a whisk of white horse hair, gives him another 
scrubbing ; washes off the lather by repeated aspersions of water 
taken from the nearest fountain; peels off corns and other excre- 
scences; and, if it is desired, performs the operation of o volar, or 
that of twisting and cracking all the joints of the extremities ; and, 
finally, by the application of cups made of horn, and bored at the 
small ends, extracts several ounces of blood from the feet. The 
bathing finished, the telacke wipes him as dry as the steam will 
permit, envelopes him again in towels, restores the slippers, and 
leads him back to his ottoman. He there takes off the towels, lies 
down, and covers himself with a counterpane. When sufficiently 
cool and dry he dresses, reclines or sits cross legged, drinks a cup 
of coffee, smokes a pipe, and when done calls a servant, deposits 
his reckoning on a small waiter handed him, and having retaken 
his watch, &c, walks out to make room for some other person. 
The price of a bath is in proportion to the means of the individual 
taking it, varying from five to a hundred piastres; that is, from 
twenty-five cents to five dollars; but commonly a dollar is a full 
price for the bath, fees for servants and refreshments, and all paid 
over that sum is gratuitous. 

Apothecaries and Physicians. — All persons deserving to rank 
under these professional titles are, without exception, Europeans by 
birth or descent. A number of the apothecaries are well acquainted 
with pharmacy, and keep a constant supply of the best medicines ; 
most of which are brought from France. The best rhubarb is 
imported from Russia, and is exported in large quantites ; but 
opium, w 7 hich formerly w T as one of the principal articles of export, 
is now to be had only in small quantities, in consequence of the 
Sultan monopolizing the trade, and having nearly the whole of the 
opium made in Turkey accumulated at Constantinople, where, if a 
large quantity is wanted, the merchants and apothecaries are 
obliged to send. The Sultan's agents pay for it the price fixed by 
him, and having collected the crops send them to the store-houses 
of the capital ; there to be dealt out at a large advance. This 
oppressive system is gradually causing neglect in the cultivation of 
this most valuable medicine; a corresponding increase in its price, . 
and a diminution in the quantity raised, the cultivators realizing 
little or no profit from the reduced prices paid by the Sultan. With 
regard to the consumption of opium by chewing and making it into 



200 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

drams, so far as my observation extended, the Turks of Smyrna in 
a great measure have abandoned both practices, and use very little 
of it in that manner. But were we to judge from the large importa- 
tion of brandy and other spirits, and the use of these liquors, which, 
though expressly forbidden by their religion, are common among 
all classes, they would seem to be substituted for opium. It is 
therefore a question whether, as this practice is general, it is not 
quite as great an evil as the other, which was confined to a few 
individuals. According to accounts given me, fifty casks of brandy 
are now consumed for every one twenty years ago, and this change 
in the temperate habits of the Musselmen is attributed to the Chris- 
tians living among them. 

There are a considerable number of respectable foreign physi- 
cians. Some of them attend the hospitals, for which fixed salaries 
are received ; and others belong to the navy and army of the Sul- 
tan. All of the former, and some of the latter, attend to private as 
well as public business, and by that means obtain a comfortable 
subsistence. The faculty, however, is disjointed and wants unani- 
mity, as is too much the case elsewhere, each member attending 
' to his own special interest, and caring nothing about that of the 
profession generally. 

They have no medical association; no academy; no college; and 
neither a paper, nor pamphlet, nor any periodical whatever to 
record and make known important professional information. This 
want of public spirit and organization necessarily causes many 
valuable facts regarding remedies, diseases, and the preservation 
of health, to sink into perfect oblivion. As the Turks have a 
great partiality for Christian physicans, and admit them into their 
families with more freedom than they admit any other persons, 
would jt not be more conducive to benevolence and the diffu- 
sion of Christianity to employ missionaries who have studied 
both divinity and medicine, and who, having free access to their 
houses, might be able to benefit the body and likewise the soul 1 These 
missionaries would most certainly effect more good than the others, 
who, by their being excluded from an intimate acquaintance with 
the Turks, and especially the women and children who are con- 
fined to their houses, have very poor opportunities of advancing the 
cause of the Christian religion, and hence have not been as suc- 
cessful in their missions as is desirable. 

Diseases. — From the account given of its climate, location, &c, 
the diseases to which Smyrna is most subject must be apparent, 
and it is hardly necessary to state that miasmatic fevers abound 
in it and in the neighbourhood. The most common of them are 
intermittents, and these prevail chiefly near the harbour, and on the 
northern side of the gulf towards the salt pans, the country being 
more marshy there than upon the southern side. Though tho 
inbat is extremely refreshing and delightful to the feelings, yet it 
is doubtful whether it does so much good as harm ; for sweeping 
over the flats and fens near Cape Salines, it of course impels all j 



DISEASES OF SMYRNA. 201 

their noxious exhalations before it; and these being confined by the 
mountains to the water, are driven immediately against the city, 
which, from standing on a promontory projecting into the southern 
side of the gulf, is directly in their way. 

In 1833, the John Adams, as before mentioned, being employed in 
convoying American vessels from Smyrna, from the middle of May 
until that of September, and having been lying in, or going down 
the gulf a great part of the time, had her crew so disabled by 
these fevers that she was forced to go into the harbour of Milo and 
remain there several weeks. But the most striking proof of the in- 
salubrity of the climate, and of the great quantity of malaria exist- 
ing in the air of Smyrna, was given during the last summer. The 
United States entered the gulf on the 30th of May with eighteen on 
the sick list, of whom not one person was affected with fever, and 
left it on the fifth of June, after lying at anchor off the city only for 
four days, with twenty-seven upon the list; of whom one was af- 
fected with neuralgia, and six with remittent and intermittent fever. 

So far as I can learn, other public vessels of this country which 
have visited Smyrna, and particularly if they have staid long in 
the gulf, have had their crews afflicted with these diseases. I was 
informed by an officer w r ho belonged to the Java when she visited 
Smyrna in 1829, that she had at one time a hundred and thirty of 
her crew on the sick list, with fever, diarrhoea, and other complaints. 
This vessel, it may be well to remark, was six months within the 
gulf; so that it is positively proved her crew T could not have been 
affected from morbid causes elsewhere. 

The number of cases of fever which occurred during last sum- 
mer aboard the United States did not arise from the weather, for it 
was perfectly fair the whole time ; and whatever humidity existed 
in the air was owing to no other cause than the heat creating a 
greater evaporation from the gulf. The only thing remarkable 
respecting the moisture of the atmosphere was, that although the 
decks were washed at daybreak they were not dry by noon, when 
the thermometer in the shade was at 77° F.; an unusual occurrence 
during fine weather. 

Next to fevers, small-pox, plague, and pulmonary complaints are 
the most usual diseases. They prevail endemically and epidemically. 
Small-pox appears to be always in existence — vaccination being 
imperfectly and not generally practised — and no intercourse can be 
held with the place by a man-of-war, especially by a large one 
having a crew proportionate to her size, without danger of getting 
this horrid disease aboard. The United States, as I have already 
had occasion to state, got it there in the winter of 1836 and 1837; 
and the Constitution, the winter preceding, suffered the same mis- 
fortune ; but the person infected having been forthwith sent ashore, 
a general contamination of her crew was prevented. 

The plague has prevailed epidemically four times within the 
last nine years, and did so last in 1837. It then broke out in the 

18 



202 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

fall, continued until summer, and proved most destructive in the 
spring. Before ceasing its ravages ten thousand persons in the 
city and its vicinity are calculated to have become its victims. 
While I was there during its prevalence, very few cases occurred 
in the city, and most of them in the village of Bournabat, and at 
the town of Vourla. 

It is the opinion of the Smyrniots that the plague which afflicts 
them is much more severe than that of Constantinople, and hence 
they say the latter is not to be feared. This opinion is perhaps 
owing to the fact, that a case of plague being imported from that 
city is not so apt to infect the people of Smyrna as when one breaks 
out from causes peculiar to the place, and predisposing the people 
to infection. 

When the disease is prevalent the wealthy inhabitants shut them- 
selves up in their houses, and undergo a voluntary quarantine until 
danger no longer exists; holding no communication with one 
another, except what cannot be avoided ; and receiving their provi- 
sions through water, which is thought a purifier, and a disinfecting 
substance. Cats at this period are prevented access to the houses, 
from a belief that these animals can communicate the plague from 
one person to another. Instances are related of this having hap- 
pened, and many others are adduced to prove the extreme con- 
tagiousness of the disorder. By many persons absolute and direct 
contact of clothes or persons is thought necessary to cause infec- 
tion, while others hold an opposite opinion, and believe this may 
happen indirectly, and through the medium of the atmosphere and 
fomites. Many facts are related to substantiate the last belief, 
and in my opinion it is the most correct. This question might be 
settled satisfactorily, if the faculty were not exceedingly cautious 
in exposing themselves to the disease. One of them informed me 
that no physician would attend a patient affected with it, because 
if he did he would not be employed to attend patients labouring under 
other maladies. From this circumstance it appears that the faculty 
of Smyrna know as little of the plague from personal observation and 
practice as the physicians" of the countries where it never prevails ; 
and hence their knowledge of it is entirely theoretical. The treatment 
of patients, then, who are affected with plague must be bad to an 
extreme, and they are either left to encounter it unaided, and un- 
advised, except by the few friends who have courage enough to risk 
infection themselves, or they are obliged to submit their lives to the 
care of the most ignorant and debased empirics. In January 1837, 
notwithstanding the severity of the weather, the unfortunate beings 
affected with this fell complaint at Bournabat, as was customary, 
were carried into the fields, and being placed beneath tents were 
allowed to remain and terminate their miserable existence; or they 
were compelled to suffer for want of those comforts so important 
to the sick until they could return to their homes without risk to 
their friends and neighbours. Having to undergo the worst of treat- 
ment, to contend with cold, hunger, thirst, and a violent disorder, 



PALESTINE. 203 

few of them lived to see their homes. Plague being thus treated, 
who can wonder that the mortality should be so great, and that in one 
year ten thousand of the inhabitants should have been destroyed. 

During winter all kinds of pulmonary complaints are met with, but 
catarrh and pleurisy are most common. In the winter of 1837, when 
the United States arrived at Smyrna only fifteen were on the sick 
list, and when she took her departure there were ninety on it, and 
eighty for these affections alone. This was undoubtedly owing 
chiefly to the influenza which prevailed there and in many other 
places at that time, but it serves still further to show that the climate 
of Smyrna is not a desirable one for invalids with pulmonic affec- 
tions. A number of these persons are said to have of late years 
resorted there from the United States for the benefit of their health. 
I met with some, and I have heard of four or five who have ended 
their lives in the place, instead of recovering and returning well 
to their country. Their fate still more satisfactorily proves what 
folly it is for a patient to leave his friends; give up the comforts of 
home; undergo the hardships, and encounter the dangers of a voyage 
of five thousand miles; suffer from the absence of those most loved ; 
and live in a strange city which has a worse climate than a great 
part of his own country; with the additional drawbacks of bad hotels, 
damp and filthy streets where the sun never shines, and which after 
all abounds in the very disease with which he is affected. 



PALESTINE. 



With no country bordering upon the Mediterranean is the 
traveller more pleased when he is approaching it than he is with 
this one, so noted in profane and sacred history. Whether he be 
a divine, an antiquarian, or a person visiting it for the sake of gain, 
or for information, and whatever may have been the height of 
his expectations he will not be disappointed. 

The first object of which he has a view in approaching the 
northern part of the coast is the rocky, jagged, stupendous ridge 
of Lebanon, raising its snow-capped summits to the heavens. Next 
he beholds Anti-Lebanon, obscured in mist; and gradually as he 
draws nearer, he sees displayed its terraced sides, cottages, villages, 
towns, gardens, and farms in the finest state of cultivation, and 
decorated with forests, groves, vineyards, and orchards of mulberry, 
orange, apricot, and other choice fruit-trees. When he has gotten 
within a short distance of land, he sees the billows dashing against, 
and venting their fury on the high craggy precipices, or losing 
themselves in the deep and dark caverns beneath them, or rolling 



204 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

onward one after another to wash and inundate some sandy beach, 
and then recede, roaring and foaming, to recover their exhausted 
strength. 

Approaching the southern part of the coast, the scenery is not 
so bold and picturesque, but still beautiful; and whatever may be 
the diminution of pleasure occasioned by the change, the traveller is 
amply repaid by the associations created in his mind, when he sees 
its undulating plains forming a vast pasture for the innumerable 
flocks of sheep and herds of cattle scattered over them ; when he 
thinks of the many battles which have been fought upon them, 
calls to mind the deeds of Coeur de Lion and Saladin, and viewing 
Tyre and St. John d'Acre, recollects the exploits of Alexander and 
Napoleon. 

The Lebanon mountains having reached St. John d'Acre de- 
cline into hills, and the range of Carmel arising, stretches from north 
to south at the back of the plains, and about twenty miles distant 
from the sea. All these mountains are composed principally of 
secondary limestone interspersed with some granite. The land is 
mostly of clay and red and white sand ; the former being found 
towards Tripoli, especially Baireut, the latter about Jaffa. There 
is, however, a great difference between the hilly and mountainous 
land and that of the plains and valleys, which last has a rich, alluvial 
soil, capable of producing any thing ; whereas, the former is well 
suited only for wheat, vines, olive, and other trees, and, when it 
has not been terraced to prevent the soil from being washed away by 
the rains of winter, it is unproductive and rocky. 

The limestone is similar lo that of other countries described ; 
being grey externally, yellowish internally, and so soft as to be 
used for making houses, fences, and tombs, it being easily cut with 
an axe, chisel, or other iron utensils. The houses of Tripoli, 
Baireut, Sidon, Jaffa, and Jerusalem are all built of it, and the 
tombs of the last place are formed by its excavation. But Palestine 
has been so well described by a multitude of writers, that I shall 
here end this general sketch, and proceed to speak of it only in a 
professional manner. 

Botany. — The country about Tripoli and Baireut is the most produc- 
tive ; yielding all the kinds of vegetables met with in the Mediterranean, 
and a great variety of the finest fruit, such as oranges, peaches, apri- 
cots, quinces, figs, olives, red and white grapes of superior size and 
flavour, and pomegranates of huge dimensions. About Tripoli the 
vines are allowed to grow wild, and, spreading over the trees, to 
shade the roads. Their grapes though small are sweet and finely 
flavoured. The prickly pear is an abundant fruit in every part, both 
where the country is fertile and where it is sterile, the quality of 
the soil seeming to cause no difference in its production ; for it 
grows equally as well on the sandy plain of Jaffa, as on the clayey, 
alluvial soil of Tripoli. Apricots are so plentiful that they are 
dried in very great quantities, and used as dried peaches are in the 



MEDICINAL PLANTS OF PALESTINE. 205 

United States. Three ship loads are said to be exported from 
Baireut alone for foreign consumption. 

Pomegranates are most abundant at Jaffa; the gardens there 
being filled with the trees, but they are much larger and hand- 
somer at Tripoli. Olive trees abound from one end of the country 
to the other, covering hills, mountains, plains, and valleys, and afford- 
ing shade to the sheep, goats, cattle, horses, mules, and camels, and a 
never-failing store of food to man, who has no other trouble with 
them than that of planting them and gathering their fruit. 

Around Sidon and Baireut the mulberry tree is by far the most 
common, being cultivated with great care for the raising of the 
silkworm, from whose product those towns derive a large revenue. 
The silk is sold raw, or is manufactured into belts, shawls, and 
other clothes, which, from the cheapness of the material and 
labour are to be had at incredibly low prices. 

The chief forest trees are the cedar, elm, pine, quercus cerris, 
and the real sycamore, which has a trunk and leaves like that of 
this country, but bears a very small fruit, shaped precisely like the 
fig, and having its inflorescence within. The fruit grows mostly 
around the roots of the large branches, and being well flavoured 
and harmless is much eaten by the poorer people. 

From the quercus cerris the galls are gathered, and used as a 
medicine or drug, as in other parts of Asia Minor. Of the cedar, T 
will only remark that it is the same as those growing on Lebanon : 
but differs from ours in being more spreading and less aromatic, 
and in having leaves resembling the spruce pine. Besides these 
trees, are the date, thorn, aspin, karoob, pride of China, and many 
others. The two former are the most common to the south, and 
the last one to the north, and particularly near Tripoli. The thorn 
is found chiefly along the rocky, barren ravines of the Carmel 
mountains. The pods of the karoob are said to be the husks eaten 
by the ' Prodigal Son.' 

Of medicinal plants the most common and important are the 
mentha viridis and piperita, the scilla maritima, cucumis agrestis, 
datura stramonium, nicotiana tabacum, and ricinus communis. 
These plants are most abundant in the neighbourhood of Tripoli 
and Baireut. The menthce are found growing on the banks of rivu- 
lets; the stramonium grows in ditches and on the road-sides; the cucu^ 
mis agrestis on the hills and declivities, especially on the Mount of 
Olives, at the back of the Church of Ascension, and behind the 
Citadel of Tripoli, where likewise is seen a magnificent specimen of 
the ricinus, it being of perennial growth. This tree was about 
eighteen feet high, had branches several inches in circumference, 
and a trunk about a foot in diameter near the ground. Its fruit, 
however, was not so large as that of the ricinus of the United 
States, nor as the fruit of that of ordinary size growing in the 
plain below the town. When 1 first saw this tree, having 
merely taken notice of its rough grey bark, I did not recog- 
nize it until I looked at the leaves and fruit. The cucumis 

18* 



206 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

agrestis grows in thick, large, patches or bunches, and hangs 
upon a slender stem with its base upwards, its apex downwards. 
The stem being fixed very loosely, the cucumber as soon as it 
is touched flies oft', and discharges its seed with great violence and 
for several yards distant. They issue from the orifice occupied 
by the stem, unless at the time when struck a wound is made 
to perforate its coats. In this case the seed are squirted from the 
wound, and the cucumber generally remains upon the stem. The 
squirting is caused by the very great elasticity of the coats, which 
contract as soon as the seed are discharged, and when wounded 
gape so wide as to completely expose the cavity which contained 
them. Besides these plants are the phytolacca or common poke, the 
anisum vulgare, and a number of others, of small medicinal virtue, 
which do not need particular notice. 

The most ordinary products of the soil are wheat, barley, flax, 
and the red podded or yellow cotton; but the two last articles are 
raised only in moderate quantities. 

STATE OF THE MEDICAL PROFESSION. 

The physicians of Palestine consist of two classes : those from 
Europe, and the regularly educated; and those who are natives of 
Asia, and are all empirics. The former are by no means numer- 
ous, and about a half of them belong to the Egyptian forces. At 
Tripoli, a town containing 15,000 inhabitants, situated in a rich 
country, and possessing considerable commerce, there was not a 
regular physician, nor even an apothecary, deserving that name ; all 
the professors of our art being Arab empirics. That no European 
physician should have settled there is singular, the town being of 
such importance, and the country so sickty. 

At Seyd, the Sidon of Scripture, with a population of 8000 inha- 
bitants, and a garrison of 4000 Egyptians, the only physician was 
a Frenchman belonging to one of the battalions ; and at Baireut, a 
town about the size of Sidon, with a thickly populated country, were 
only two regular physicians there; one a Neapolitan, the other a 
Greek, and a native of Salonica, who was educated by a French 
physician of that place, and had practised for some years in 
Damascus. 

At Jaffa the only physician was a Neapolitan. He had resided 
many years in the country, and a long time at Baireut, from which 
he had lately removed, to become physician of the quarantine at the 
former place. 

In Jerusalem the profession is in as degraded a condition as in 
other parts. Although it has a population of 30,000 souls, the only 
physician in it w T as a Frenchman, who belonged to the Egyptian garri- 
son, and was a temporary resident ; but all others practising the heal- 
ing art in the place were Arab empirics. This is to be greatly regret- 
ted; for the lives of many pilgrims and travellers have been lost 
there and elsewhere in the country, from the want of efficient medi- 



STATE OF THE MEDICAL PKOFESSION IN PALESTINE. 207 

cal attendance. Among these persons was Mr. Costigan, a young 
Irishman, of fine abilities, a highly cultivated mind, and uncommon 
zeal. I was informed that, being determined to explore the Dead 
Sea, he built a boat for the purpose at Jerusalem, transported it on 
a camel, and having embarked with a servant, made the desired 
observations and researches. Most unfortunately their store of 
fresh water was lost overboard through the stupidity of the servant; 
and in returning they suffered so much from thirst, heat, and fatigue, 
that they reached the shore with great difficulty, and were both 
immediately seized with a raging fever. The servant* died at 
Jericho, where they landed; and though Mr: Costigan w r as con- 
veyed to Jerusalem, yet he lived so short a time afterwards that 
he was unable to make known the result of his researches. His 
untimely death is to be much deplored, being a most serious loss 
to science; for had he lived, we might have had our curiosity 
respecting the Dead Sea fully gratified. 

The native physicians are generally Arabs, and being self edu- 
cated, no medical schools existing in any section of the country, 
and none of them going abroad to study their profession, they are as 
illiterate and unskillful, according to accounts, as it is possible for 
them to be. Of this the people are aware, and seldom employ 
them if a Frank physician can be had. Their ordinary do^e of jalap 
is from one to two drachms ; that of castor oil three ounces; and that 
of tartar emetic four grains. Calomel is used and abused as in other 
parts of the world ; and though it is given in smaller doses than is custo- 
mary in our own country, yet from their continuing it for a protracted 
period it does much mischief. For example, a young man of Aleppo 
who came aboard to consult me, and was suffering from nodes and 
other effects of mercurialism, informed me that, having been thought 
to be affected with syphilis by an Arab physician of that city, he 
was prescribed four grains of calomel three times a day, and had 
taken it in that quantity for two years. 

Another instance of their practice was related to me by our esti- 
mable consul, Mr. Chaussend. He stated that he himself was once 
seized with fever at Tyre, and sent for one of the physicians of the 
town. The doctor came, examined him, and greatly to his aston- 
ishment sent for four pounds of cucumbers. These being brought 
he had them mashed, and, squeezing out the juice into a vessel, pre- 
sented it to his patient to drink ; but Mr. C, having always under- 
stood that it was poisonous, refused the draught, dismissed the 
doctor, prescribed for himself, and got w T ell. 

Mr. Chaussend likewise stated that at Baireut it is a common 
practice for the physicians to treat diseases by presenting the cross 
to their patients, and giving them holy water to drink. The modus 
operandi of these remedies I know not, but suppose that, if they 
ever have a beneficial effect, it is altogether from the predisposition 

* Mr. Stephens says {Journey to Arabia, Petrsea, &c), that he carried the boat 
from Baireut, and that the servant was a Maltese sailor, whom he saw after- 
wards. This statement is probably the most correct. 



208 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

induced by the blind credulity of their patients, acted on by an 
excited imagination. 

But whatever may be the want of skill among the native prac- 
titioners in the treatment of medical diseases, thev have much less 
in that of surgical ones ; and the people are most deplorably in need 
of proper assistance even in the most common injuries. Instances of 
fracture of the bones were related, in which the limbs were per- 
mitted to remain undisturbed in their deformed condition, and hav- 
ing gotten well to subject the sufferers to inconvenience for life. 

Apothecaries. — Taking their qualifications and a knowledge of 
their business in consideration, they are generally as bad as 
the physicians. According to, what I saw and heard there was 
but one efficient apothecary in the country. He was a Euro- 
pean who lived at Baireut, and who, having much business, 
was making a fortune. All the other apothecaries were natives. 
Their shops were so strange that a description of one may not be 
uninteresting. This was in a bazaar at Jaffa : it was about ten feet 
high, eight wide, and fifteen long. It was open in -front from the 
ceiling to the floor; and therefore, not wanting them, had neither 
doors nor windows, but had two shutters, one above, the other below, 
fastened with hinges. The lower shutter formed a counter when 
let down, and the upper a screen from the sun when raised. At 
night these shutters being brought together closed the house, admit- 
ting neither air nor light. 

All the medicines, except those on the counter, were placed on 
shelves, and kept in wooden boxes with tops, like those for pills; 
and the names of the medicines written upon the front of them in 
Arabic characters. Among the medicines were sulphur, sulphate of 
iron, gum arabic, and many others in common use here, which had 
been imported from Europe. Besides these were many more, but 
all of the vegetable kingdom, which had been brought from the 
interior, raised in the neighbourhood, or imported from Egypt. 

The apothecary, a large, well-dressed, comely man, clothed in 
Turkish costume, sat cross-legged upon one end of the counter, and 
receiving from an assistant the articles asked for by the purchaser 
he weighed the quantities wanted, and having laid down the scales 
then calculated the prices with the utmost gravity and dignity. _ 

Diseases. — The most common are pulmonary affections, small- 
pox, dysentery, hepatitis, ophthalmia, fevers, and plague. Le- 
prosy is said still to be in existence, particularly at Baireut and 
Jaffa; but although I endeavoured to find some, I saw no cases. 
* There is no doubt, however, of this complaint existing, if the tes- 
timony of the faculty is a sufficient proof. Of the fact I was 
informed by physicians in both of those places; and my not meet- 
ing with those afflicted with this disease, was probably owing to 
their being such disgusting spectacles that they kept aloof from 
society, and secreted themselves to escape public attention. I saw 
one case of hydrocephalus, another of hemiplegia, marasmus, and 
partial idiocy induced by onanism, and several persons with spinal 



DISEASES OF PALESTINE. 209 

disease. Small-pox is destructive from the want of vaccination; 
it being seldom practised. 

Dysentery is a common disease, and is treated by the regular 
physicians after the same plan as in this country ; but by the Ara- 
bians with manna, cassia fistula, rhubarb, and emulsion of almonds. 

By far the most common disease in every part of the country is 
ophthalmia ; but it is found mostly to the south, near the sea coast, 
where there is a great accumulation of sand, which when the wind 
is strong is constantly drifting. About Jaffa, nebula, leucoma, 
psorophthalmia, and all other affections of the eyes were preva- 
lent. At Ramla, the Aramathea of Scripture, which is ten miles from 
that place, among the first persons 1 saw were three blind men 
conversing together ; and before the door of the American consul's 
house, where we stopped, out of twenty persons gathered before it 
from curiosity or to beg, nine were affected with opacity of the cornea 
in one or both eyes. Moreover, in riding from this house to the 
borders of the town, a distance of two hundred yards, thirty-four 
persons were seen who had suffered a like misfortune, and were par- 
tially or totally deprived of sight; so that I do not think it impro- 
bable that one-half of the population have imperfect eyes, either 
from acute or chronic ophthalmia of various degrees of inten- 
sity. Nearly all the blind I saw were males, and this may be 
ascribed to the females living more plainly, keeping much within 
doors, and when they go out wearing veils, shawls, and handker- 
chiefs, to protect their faces from the air, and from being seen. In 
the males the numerous instances of blindness and ophthalmia may 
be attributed to the great quantity of sand and dust,the exposure of the 
eyes to an ardent sun, wearing turbans, or caps without brims, w 7 hich 
afford no protection ; also to the want of proper medical attendance ; 
and to the blowing of the sirocco wind. We encountered this wind 
on the Carmel mountains as we were going to Jerusalem. It blew 
directly from the south-east, and was so excessively hot and dry, 
and so charged with impalpable sand from the deserts of Arabia, 
that the skin became parched, the lungs oppressed, and the eyes 
inflamed. 

The prevalent fevers are intermittents and bilious remittents* 
These are to be met with throughout the country ; but they are by 
much more numerous in the fertile and level plains of Tripoli. This 
is readily explained. The river Kadisha, arising from the foot of 
Lebanon flow r s through the plain immediately below r , and passes on 
between the two high hills, upon the western sides of which, and 
extending towards their base, Tripoli is situated. Having reached 
the town it is dammed up to supply its fountains, and to be distri- 
buted in countless streams to the farms and gardens between the 
hills and the sea shore. The soil being very rich, vegetation ex- 
tremely luxuriant, the water frequently stagnant from the flatness 
of the country and damming the streams to divert them from one 
part to another as may be required for irrigation, the ground is kept 



210 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

constantly humid, and malaria is formed in abundance. Fevers are 
therefore so certain to seize those persons who reside in the plains, 
that they are very thinly inhabited : few of the gardens or farms 
have houses, whereas, in the neighbourhood of Baireut, this accom- 
paniment is seen without exception. 

Of the plague it is unnecessary to say much. It prevails in Pales- 
tine as it does elsewhere in Asia, and seems to arise from the same 
causes, to be governed by the same laws, and to be always in exis- 
tence, either prevailing locally or generally at every season of the 
year; but principally in the maritime towns. It broke out at Baireut 
in the summer of 1836; and was stated on the best authority to 
have originated from a letter received there from Alexandria. 
The person to whom it was sent opened it without purification, 
was soon afterwards taken sick with the disease, and died ; but 
not before infecting his friends by intercourse with them, even to 
the causing of buboes in the armpits. Seventeen persons, from his 
imprudence, lost their lives ; and so incensed were his fellow- 
citizens at his conduct, that nothing but his death saved him from 
that which their resentment would have inflicted. 

During last summer the disease prevailed along the whole coast 
to such a degree, that when we arrived there on our second visit 
the ship could not communicate. Hence I was disappointed in my 
expectations of pursuing the investigations begun two years before, 
and was unable to gather such other information concerning the 
country as I desired, and which might have rendered these Ob- 
servations more satisfactory to myself, as well as more interesting 
to the reader. Of him I now take leave, with a hope that, for the 
reasons assigned, he will look with a lenient eye on whatever errors 
or imperfections he has discovered. 



APPENDIX. 



A. 



Since writing the preceding remarks on phthisis pulmonalis, I 
have been favoured by Dr. Bell with some extracts from the Inau- 
gural Thesis of Dr. Sinclair of the British Navy, in which 
he speaks of the prevalence of this disease among the seamen 
of their fleet in the Mediterranean, during the years 1810, 1811, 
and 1812. According to Dr. Sinclair's statement, the opinions 
I have advanced on the subject are fully substantiated ; for he states 
that agreeably to the returns made of the disease of the seamen in 
the fleet, the crews of which amounted to 30,000 men, 2113 
patients were admitted into the hospitals of Malta, Gibraltar, and 
Minorca, during those years; and that 596 of them were affected 
with phthisis pulmonalis and pneumonia. He also states that out 
of 455 cases of phthisis, 151 of them terminated fatally before they 
could be shipped off to England, where he recommends persons 
affected with the complaint to be sent. Moreover, he thinks the 
climate of the Mediterranean even worse for them than that of the 
northern shores of Europe. He says of the former : " It is indeed 
true that it may claim immunity from the great permanent heat of 
the tropical, and cold of the northern regions ; but it is subject to an 
inconstancy of weather and an irregularity of temperature altogether 
unknown in either of these. The climate acts secondarily also, by 
exciting- diseases (the principal of which is fever) which leave a 
predisposition to pulmonic affections." 

Finally, he says, that phthisis sometimes proved fatal in a few 
weeks, and was rarely protracted beyond five or six months. 

That this statement is correct, may be proved in a measure by 
the following one, of the cases which occurred aboard the United 
States: 

Admitted on the Sick List. 
18S7, 



Case I. . 


January 4th, 


II. . . 


7th, 


HI. . 


, February 25th, 


IV. . 


. April 1st, 


V. . 


. May 10th, 


VI. . 


. June 9th, 


VII. . 


January 6th, 


VIII. . 


. June 16th, 



1838, 



Died. 
January 30th, 
March 21st, 
December 4th, 
August 12th, 
September 24th, 
December 10th, 
March ' 2d, 
August 6th, 



1837. 



1838. 



It is seen here, that the first and shortest case ended fatally in 
twenty-six days after admission ; that the most protracted one was 
the third, which lasted less than ten months; and that the average 
duration of the disease was not quite four months. 



212 HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS. 

I should likewise add, that the ninth and tenth cases were those 
of the two officers mentioned; and that one died in about five, the 
other in about eight months after being taken under treatment for 
the disease. Both of them died while returning home ; one of them 
in Minorca, after having left our ship at Athens; the other one a few 
days after having left the Mediterranean, and got upon the Atlantic. 
Including these two cases, the loss by phthisis on board the United 
States was two per cent, during the cruise; her crew having con- 
sisted of nearly 500 men. This loss, as has been remarked before, 
was much disproportioned to that from other complaints ; the death 
from which amounted to only four, or less than one per cent. 
Of these four, one died of fever, one of paralysis, one of small-pox, 
and one of jaundice. Four other persons were lost besides these ; 
but one was drowned, and three were killed bv falls. 



B. 

Since my return home, and my observations respecting vac- 
cination were made, I have been much gratified to find that not 
imfrequent imperfection of the operation has eventually excited 
the attention of the profession both in Europe and in this coun- 
try. My remarks were applied chiefly to vaccination as prac- 
tised in our naval service, and to what I myself had witnessed, 
or had gathered from other medical officers of the navy; but 
it seems from the numerous complaints made by the faculty 
generally, that they are applicable to vaccination everywhere. 
I do not wish, however, any one to misconstrue what I have said, 
and think that my faith in the efficacy of that divine preventive 
of the foulest disease with which man is afflicted, has been either 
shaken or overturned. Far from this being the case, I believe 
as firmly as ever I did in its virtues ; for it is certain that I know 
of no person who has died of small-pox after being properly vac- 
cinated. Moreover, I can state that, save in one or two instances, 
I have never known any person with a well defined vaccine cicatrix 
to have any thing more than the disease in a modified and very mild 
form. To conclude, I will state that it may be well to revaccinate 
where there is the least doubt concerning the efficiency of ths pre- 
vious vaccination, and that the vaccine virus should be as fresh as 
possible. But I am not as yet a believer in the doctrine of Dr. Heim, 
and other German physicians, that after the lapse of a certain 
number of years vaccination loses its protective power, and must 
be repeated; for I have not met with any man of mature age who, 
although he may have been vaccinated only once, and that in child- 
hood, was affected with small-pox, either in its virulent or modified 
character. 



THE END. 



ERRATA 
TO "HORNER'S OBSERVATIONS." 



age 5, line 10 from the 


» 6 


>' 


4, 


&c. 


5> 


„ 36 


>> 


3 




» 


„ — 


55 


33 




» 


„ 38 


n 


43 




)t 


„ 59" 


55 


12 




»> 


„ 60 


5) 


33 




» 


„ — 


55 


34 




» 


„ 72 


55 


38 




» 


„ 79 


55 


24 




» 


, 81 


55 


41 




» 


„ 96") 
„ 97 5 


- 


- 




- 


„ 110 


55 


32 




>» 


,,113 


55 


last 




» 


„ 115 


55 


39 




» 


„ 119 


55 


46 




» 


» 121 


55 


41 




» 


» 128 


55 


30 




J> 


„ 130 


55 


18 




J> 


» 133 




25 




» 


„ 134 




38 




» 


„ 135 




6 




5> 


» 148 




33 




>} 


„ 149 




3 




55 


» 150 




18- 


19 


)> 


„ 157 




36 




J> 


„ 166 




36 




» 


„ 177 




23 




>> 


„ 186 




48 




5> 


„ 192 




10 




>, 


„ 204 




20 




>J 


„ 206 




32 




>> 


„ 210 




15- 


16 


» 



top, omit jaundice. 

Read Hospicio for Hospiciis and Hospicis ; also at p. 55. 

„ Me Tagus for & 

„ ?'£ zs for Met/ are. 

„ Estrella, Star for Estrellastar. 

„ month for monthly. 

„ a# between o/* and Me. 

„ Mw for Me. 

put a . for a , before Its. 
Read authorities for authorites. 

„ expenses after defray. 

C mayor and may ores, for major and majores ; same 

" J at p. 101. 

„ vienen for 7>en. 

„ a fourth for na{/*. 

„ # after an;/. 

„ sardina or for sardinas and. 

„ />ao for «pa. 

„ Men for Ma£. 

„ cause for course. 

„ resi for resifs. 

„ Fi7/a for FzVa. 

„ Me before quarries. 

„ from for &ra. 

„ cleavage for clearage. 

„ an J before -when, and onfo/ after alloived. 

„ extends for extend. 

„ z/*for ana*. 

„ stetvard for dispensing apothecary. 

„ Me heads for head. 

„ J\fi?nas for Jlfimras. 

„ at between especially and Baireut. 

,, Mere before were and omit it in the next line. 

„ wAen fte Aao 7 , for to Me causing of. 



Directions to the Binder. 



Plate I. between page 38 and 39. 



„ II. 


>> 


112 


»» 


113. 


„ III. 


J> 


120 


»> 


121. 


„ iv. 


»> 


122 


>» 


123. 


„ v. 


>» 


124 


»» 


125. 


„ VI. 


>> 


134 


>» 


135. 


„ VII. 


>» 


136 


j» 


137. 


„VIII. 


J» 


176 


>» 


177. 



Philadelphia, 293 Market Street, 
March, 1845. 



STANDARD WORKS 



1 ANATOMY, MEDICINE, SURGERY, 





GTfle Collateral Sciences, 



PUBLISHED BY 



ED. BARRINGTON & GEO. D. HASWELL. 



M E D I C A L 



BOOKSELLERS AND PUBLISHERS. 




WDTTH TOg ^g^mOMY ©F TOU PB[l©©a 




Orders for any of the books mentioned in the accompanying Catalogue, 
jM can be executed by the principal Booksellers and Druggists in the United 



States. 





BARRINGTON &. HASWELL'S 



HARRINGTON & HASWELL 

Respectfully ask the attention of the Profession to the 
SELECT MEDICAL LIBRARY, 




EDITED 

By JOHN BELL, 



M.D. 



Lecturer on Materia Medica and Therapeutics; Fellow of the College of Physicians, Philadelphia; 

Member of the American Philosophical Society; 

Corresponding Secretary of the Medical College of Philadelphia, etc., etc. 



Ij 



Each No. of the Library is issued quarterly, in January, April, July, and October, 



and consists of one or more approved works on some branch of Medicine, including, 
of course, Surgery and Obstetrics. 

Every work in the Library is completed in the number in which it is begun, 
unless the subject naturally admits of division; and hence the size of the volumes 
vary. It is done up in a strong paper cover, and each work labelled on the 
back ; thus obviating the immediate necessity of binding. 

In addition to the above, the Subscribers will receive the Bulletin of Medica 
Science, a monthly Journal — Terms, $5 per annum, in advance. 

. Subscribers must notify their intention to discontinue before the close of any one 
year. 

'* Our profession is under many obligations to Dr. Bell, of Philadelphia, whose 
judgment, independence and learning fit him very eminently for the editorial tripod, 
which he has occupied for many years. As a critic his decisions are entitled to high 
respect, and the works which have been re-published by his directions have been 
stamped with so much excellence, that it is a sufficient passport to public favour that 
a volume has appeared in the Select JMedical Library." — Western Journal of Medicine 
and Surgery. 

" This is another reprint (Nunneley on Erysipelas) in the Select Medical Library, 
edited by John Bell, M.D. On a previous occasion, we drew attention to the singu- 
larly happy exercise of judgment displayed, at all times, by this learned brother in 
his selections of works for the profession on this side of the Atlantic', and*this opinion 
has, in the interim, been still more decidedly confirmed. So judicious has Dr. B. 
been in all these decisions, that we are warranted in saying, from no little knowledge 
on the subject, that the simple fact, that a volume has appeared in his ' Library,' 
secures it a character for excellence, which could not be more than attained by a 
simultaneous review in its favour by all the medical journals in the country." — JV. Y. 
Journ. of Med. and Collat. Sciences. 



They also publish, by the same editor, 
M@i^miOT' ©TOMEra ©IF MUBIKOAI^ flCSHUMOJlo 

The Bulletin of Medical Science is published monthly, in numbers of thirty-six 
pages. 

It is supplied to the Subscribers to the Select Medical Library without any addi- 
tional cost, on their remittirig^e dollars, the subscription price of the Library for one 
year. 

Those who wish to take the Bulletin alone, will have it sent to their address for $1 
per annum, payable in advance. 

Clubs will be furnished with six copies of the Bulletin for $5. 

Any gentleman ordering or purchasing works published by the subscribers to the 
amount of $10, will be entitled to a copy for one year, gratis, j 




ANATOMY, 
DISSECTOR'S GUIDE. 

Edward J. Chaisty, M.D. 

THE LO N DO N Dl S S ECT R. R GUIDE TO ANATOMY: 

JFor t|)e WLsz of Students. 

Comprising a Description of the JMuscles, Vessels, Nerves, Lymphatics, and 

Viscera of the Human Body, as they appear on Dissection: 

With Directions for their Demonstration. 

REVISED AlfD CORRECTED 

By EDWARD J. CHAISTY, M.D. 

1 vol. 12mo. muslin. 

" Although there are several of these dissecting-room companions, there is not one in the whole 
catalogue that wears better, from its intrinsic value, than the old London Dissector. With the 
improvements of this excellent edition, carefully revised, it will prove a very economical as well 
as certain assistant ; and it therefore commends itself to the student." — Boston Med. and Surg. 
Jour. 



Professor Samuel D. Gross, M.D. 

ELEMENTS OF PATHOLOGICAL ANATOMY. 

By Prof. SAMUEL D. GROSS, M.D., 

Late Professor of General Anatomy, Physiology, and Pathological Anatomy in the 

Medical Department of the Cincinnati College, and now Professor 

of Surgery in the Louisville Medical Institute, Ky. 

Illustrated by Coloured Plates, and One Hundred Engravings on Wood. 

2 vols. 8vo. sheep. 

" That such a mind should produce a work of the highest value on a subject so much neglected in 
this country, is what might have been expected.'''— N. Y. Journ. of Med. and Surg. 

" We have spoken in high terms of it because it possesses real and desirable excellencies."— Phila. 
Med. Exam. 

" We can strongly recommend his ' Elements of Pathological Anatomy' to the attention of the 
pathological inquirer."— Amer. Med. Lib. and Intel. 

" It is not, indeed, of a character to be easily forgotten."— Boston Med. and Surg. Journ. 




BARRINGTON & HASWELL'S 



PHYSIOLOGY ANT> HYGIENE. 

PHYSICAL AGENTS. 

W. F. Edwards. 

ON THE 

INFLUENCE OF PHYSICAL AGENTS ON LIFE. 

By W. F. EDWARDS, M.D., F.R.S., Etc. 

TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH, BY DRS. H0DGKIN AND FISHER. 

To -which are added some Observations on Electricity, and JYotes to the -work. 

1 vol. 8vo. sheep. 

This is a work of standard authority in Medicine ; and, in a physiological point of view, 
i s pre-eminently the most valuable publication of the present century ; the experimental inves- 
tigation instituted by the author, having done much towards solving many problems hitherto 
but partially understood. The work was originally presented in parts to the Royal Academy of 
Science of Paris, and so highly did they estimate the labours of the author, and so fully appre- 
ciate the services by him thus rendered to science and to humanity, that they awarded him, 
though a foreigner, the prize founded for the promotion of experimental physiology." 



Thomas Lawsoti, M.D. 
METEOROLOGICAL REGISTER 

FOR THE YEARS 1826-30. 

From Observations made by Surgeons of the Army and others at the Military 

Posts of the United States. 

Prepared under the direction of THOMAS LAW SON, M.D., 
Surgeon-General U.S.A. 



ANIMAL (ECONOMY. 

John Hunter. 
OBSERVATIONS ON CERTAIN PARTS OF THE ANIMAL ECONOMY, 

INCLUSIVE OF SEVERAL PAPERS FROM THE PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS, ETC. 

By JOHN HUNTER, F.R.S., Etc. 

With Notes, by RICHARD OWEN, F.R.S. 

1 vol. 8vo. sheep. 



MEDICAL PUBLICATIONS. 



CLIMATE. 

Sir James Clark 
ON THE SANATIVE INFLUENCE OF CLIMATE. 

1 vol. 8vo. sheep. 

"It is unnecessary to say anything of this work, as its value is too well known to the profession to 
require any fostering at this period. The present edition is greatly superior to its predecessors." 
— Western Lancet. 

" For amount of information, variety of details, and important instruction relative to the interest- 
ing subject to which it is devoted, we believe this work is unequalled. It has been reprinted in an 
elegant cheap form. "—Gaze tte. 



PATHOLOGY, 

Geo. Freckleton, M.D. 
OUTLINES OF GENERAL PATHOLOGY. 

By GEO. FRECKLETON, M.D., 

Fellow of the*Royal College of Physicians, &e. 



John Hunter. 

A TREATISE ON THE BLOOD, INFLAMMATION, AND GUN SHOT WOUNDS, 

By JOHN HUNTER, F.R.S. 

With Notes, by James F. Palmer, 
Senior Surgeon to the St. George's and St. James's Dispensary, &c, &c. 

1 vol. 8vo. sheep. 



A 




BARRINGTON & HASWELL'S 



Wm. Thomson, M.D. 

HISTORICAL NOTICES OIT THE 

OCCURRENCE OF INFLAMMATORY AFFECTIONS OF THE INTERNAL ORGANS 

AFTER EXTERNAL INJURIES AND SURGICAL OPERATIONS. 

By WM. THOMSON, M.D. , Etc. 



James Macartney. 

A TREATISE ON INFLAMMATION. 
By JAMES MACARTNEY, F.R.S., F.L.S., Etc. 

F. Magendie, M.D. 
LECTURES ON THE BLOOD, 

AND ON THE CHANGES WHICH IT UNDERGOES DURING DISEASE. 
By F. MAGENDIE, M.D. 

M. Gibert. 
CHANGES OF THE BLOOD IN DISEASE. 

TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH OF M. GIBERT, 

Bx JOHN H. DIX, M.D., M.M.S.S. 
1 vol. 8vo. half sheep. 

"The treatise of M. Gibert iselaborate, and exhibits a very good viewof the relations of the blood 
to the morbid conditions of the system." — Western Lancet. 

" This is one of the best treatises on the changes of the ttood in disease. It has been elegantly 
translated from the French by Dr. Dix, of Boston, and is published for a mere trifle, by the enter- 
prising firm of Barrington & Haswell, of Philadelphia. It is a most valuable addition to a medical 
library." — W. Gazette. 



CONSTIPATION. 

John Burne, M.D. 

A TREATISE ON THE CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCE OF HABITUAL CONSTIPATION, 

By JOHN BURNE, M.D., 
Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, Physician to the Westminster Hospital, etc. 

1 vol. 8vo. muslin. 

"For some interesting cases illustrative of this work, the author is indebted to Dr. Williams, Dr. 
Stroud, Dr. Callaway, Mr. Morgan, Mr. Taunton, Dr. Roots, Sir Astley Cooper, Sir Benjamin 
Brodie,Mr. Tupper, Mr, Bailer, Dr. Paris, Mr. Dendy, Dr. Hen. V. Thomson," &.O.— Preface. 




MEDICAL PUBLICATIONS. 



HYSTERIA. 

Thomas Laycock. 
AN ESSAY ON HYSTERIA. 

BEING AN ANALYSIS OF ITS IRREGULAR AND AGGRAVATED FORMS. 

INCLUDING HYSTERICAL HEMORRHAGE AND HYSTERICAL ISCHURIA. 

With numerous Illustrative and Curious Cases. 

By THOMAS LAYCOCK, 

House Surgeon to the York County Hospital. 

1 vol. 8vo. muslin. 

AETIOLOGY. 

Aretseus 
ON THE CAUSES AND SIGNS OF ACUTE AND CHRONIC DISEASE, 

FROM THE GREEK, 

Bx T. F. REYNOLDS, M.B., F.L.S., Etc 

1 vol. 8vo. sheep. 

" The correct detail of symptoms, the nervous style, the graphic delineation of disease, displayed 
in this author's work, the poetic and quaint fancies scattered throughout, give a certain value and 
interest, that may fairly excuse an attempt to reinvest part of them in a vernacular garb." 

"We certainly have no hesitation in recommending this curious volume to the notice of our 
readers. Its price is a mere trifle." — New York Lancet. 



SEME IOLOGY. 

Professor S chill. 

OUTLINES OF PATHOLOGICAL SEMEIOLOGY. 

TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAIN OF PROFESSOR SCHILL, 

With Copious Notes, 
By D. SPILLAN, M.D.,A.M., Etc 

1 vol. 8vo. sheep. 

" The signs of disease exhibited by the principal tissues and organs, are treated of 
in a succinct and comprehensive manner, by Dr. Scliill, and as a work of daily 
reference to assist in distinguishing diseases, it cannot be too highly commended." — 
Bait. Journ. 

" An elegant and accurate translation of a very ingenious and instructive work. We do not know 
any other source from which we can so easily and profitably obtain all that is really useful in the 
semeiology of the anciems; and the erudite translator and editor has so very creditably supplied 
the deficiencies of the author's abrige of the labours of m dern workers, in this most important 
department of modern science, that we can in good conscience commend the book as one of un- 
equivocal merit." — New York Lancet. 



BARRINGTON &. HASWELL'S 



MATERIA MEDICA AND THERAPEUTICS. 

John Bell, M.D. 

A PRACTICAL DICTIONARY OF MATERIA 

MEDICA: 

Including the Composition, Preparation and Uses of Medicines ; and a large 

number of Extemporaneous Formulas: together with important 

Toxicological Observations. 

ON THE BASIS OF BKANDe's DICTIONARY OF MATEBIA MEDICA AKD PRACTICAL 

PHARMACY. 

By JOHN BELL, M.D., 

Lecturer on Materia Medica and Therapeutics, &c, &c. 

1 vol. 8vo. sheep. 

"Mr. Brande's is an excellent work, and with the retrenchments, additions, and alterations of 
Dr. Bell, may be. regarded, as one of the most valuable works on the Materia Medica we now 
■possess. It has an important, advantage over many of the treatises on this subject, in giving a large 
number of prescriptions for the administration of the principal articles. This renders it especially 
valuable to the young practitioner." —Bait. Jour. 



James Johnstone, M.D. 

A THERAPEUTIC ARRANGEMENT AND SYLLABUS OF MATERIA MEDICA, 

By JAMES JOHNSTONE, M.D., 

Fellow of the College of Physicians, and Physician to General Hospital, Birmingham. 

Small vol. 8vo. 

" This book cannot but be particularly useful to those who intend to lecture or write upon 
the Materia Medica; as well as to the students for whose particular use it is prepared."— Brit, 
and For. Med. Rev. 



Henry Clutterbuck, M.D. 

LECTURES ON BLOODLETTING. 
By HENRY CLUTTERBUCK, M.D. 

1 vol. 8vo. half sheep. 

A. Turnbull, M.D. 
THE MEDICAL PROPERTIES OF THE NATURAL ORDER RANUNCULACE/E, ETC. 
By A. TURNBULL, M.D. 



8 



MEDICAL PUBLICATIONS. 



iiw mn>Einr©sro 
THEORY AND PRACTICE OF MEDICINE. 




& 



Bell and Stokes. 

LECTURES 
ON THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF PHYSIC. 

By JOHN BELL, M.D., 

Lecturer on Materia Medica and Therapeutics ; Member of the College of Physicians, 
Philadelphia, and of the American Philosophical Society, etc., etc. ; and 

WM. STOKES, M.D., 

Lecturer at the Medical School, Park Street, Dublin ; Physician to the Meath 
County Hospital, etc., etc. 

Third American Edition, much enlarged and improved. 2 vols. 8vo. sheep. 

" Few Medical works issued from the American press, within the same period, 
have had more currency, or been more highly approved by the profession. This 
edition of the Lectures is marked by substantial improvements, which will enhance 
the value of the work to the practitioner. Dr. Bell i.- just the man to keep his book 
up to the present state of medical science, and his readers have the comfortable as- 
surance that they have before them all the light of recent discovery." — Western Journ. 
of Med and Surg. 

" Dr. Bell has bestowed much industry on the present edition. He has supplie, 
many marked deficiencies in the former." '' Those by our friend and fellow towns 
man, to which we more particularly refer, exhibit much learning and research 
judicious discrimination, and a thorough acquaintance with the diseases and practice 
of this country. More need not.be said to entitle him to tha thanks of the profession 
for his share in this publication." — Med. Examiner. 

" The first gentleman is known for his profound attainments, and the accuracy 
and ability which he brings to bear on all subjects on which the powers of his mind 
are exercised. The other, a resident of the city of Dublin, has rarely been excelled 
in writing on the practice of medicine. When the former editions were issued, a 
heartfelt pleasure was expressed at their appearance; and we have equal gratification 
in seeing that they were appreciated by the medical public — the evidence of which 
is certain, from the circumstance that this improved and enlarged edition is required 
to meet the demand. 

" These acceptable lectures are in two large, compactly-printed octavo volumes." — 
Boston Jled. and Surg. Journ. 

" We cordially recommend such of our readers as have yet not supplied them- 
selves to procure a copy of the present edition of these lectures, for we feel confident 
that they will never regret the time as lost, that they may devote to their perusal. 
The work is gotten up in the usually neat and appropriate style of the enterprising 
publishers, and printed on good paper and clear type'." — AT. Y. Journal of Medicine. 

"With such additions and improvements, we consider the work one of the best of its kind with 
which we are acquainted." — Maryland Med. if Surg. Journ. 

"The work has now assumed the form of a quiie complete system of medicine, equally valuable 
as a text-book to the student, and a book of reference to the practitioner." " We know of no book 
of the kind which we would more readily place in the hands of a student, or to which we would 
more readily refer the practitioner, for a hasty investigation of a subject." — NewEng. Quart. Jour, 
of Med. and Surg 

" Our favourable opinion has already been expressed, and we will only add, that 
our estimate of their excellence has been heightened by repeated examinations. For 
all the qualities which the student or practitioner can desire in a work for study or 
reference, these lectures may be safely recommended, as comprising as much as 
could be brought within their limits of sound opinion and judicious practice." — 
West. Jour. 





BARRINGTON & HASWELL'S 

-* — ■ — ■ — — — — t- 

Alex. D. Gait, M.D. 

PRACTICAL MEDICINE. 

Illustrated by Cases of the Most Important Diseases. 

Edited by JOHN M. GALT, M.D., 

From the Papers of 

ALEXANDER D. GALT, M.D. 

For many years an extensive practitioner in Williamsburg, Va. 

1 handsome vol. 8vo. sheep. 

Charles J. B. Williams, M.D. 

PRINCIPLES OF MEDICINE: 
Comprehending- General Pathology and Therapeutics* 

By CHARLES J. B. WILLIAMS, M.D., F.R.S. 

With numerous additional Notes, Explanatory and Critical, by the Editor of the 
Select Medical Library and Bulletin of Medical Science. 

1 vol. 8vo. sheep. 

"We consider, in fact, that in producing it, Dr. Williams has still further enhanced his 
already high character with the profession and the public. "—Med. Chir. Rev. 

"It is without a competitor in our language, and fills most successfully a decided gap In our 
medical literature." — Philad. Med. Exam. 

" We would advise no one to set himself down in practice unprovided with a copy. Even 
among the old and experienced practitioners, we venture to say that there are few who will 
not benefit by a perusal of this work."— Brit, and For. Med. Rev. 

" The reader will derive greater pleasure, and more useful practical knowledge from this 
book than from any other treatise on the subject that we are acquainted with."— Dub. Jour, 
of Med. Scien. 

"We would gladly see Dr. Williams's valuablebook in the hands of every practitioner, satisfied 
as we are, that the cultivation of these branches, in addition to those more commonly studied, 
is the only method by which practical medicine can be severed from empiricism." — Western 

Lancet. 

* 

" In consideration of the advances made in recent years in the multitudinous subjects com- 
prised in this branch of medicine, a special treatise must surely be quite acceptable; and this 
one, including the notes, more copious than usual, of the annotator, cannot fail to reward the 
reader both with pleasure and profit."— N.Y Jour, of Med. and the Collat. Sciences. 



Henry Holland, M.D. 
MEDICAL NOTES AND REFLECTIONS. 

By HENRY HOLLAND, M.D., F.R.S., 

Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, and Physician Extraordinary to the 

Queen. 



10 



■*M**p«MMA0h^^M^^ 



'^ WNXWWWWK ^ tAli ' 



MEDICAL PUBLICATIONS, 



Davidson and Hudson's 

ESSAYS ON THE 

SOURCES AND MODE OF ACTION OF FEVER. 

"The volume before us abounds in details of a highly instructive kind, and manifests a vigorous 
and healthy tone of investigation, which, even in its indirect effects, cannot but be beneficially felt 
by the American reader. 1 '— Bulletin of Med. Science. 

" Dr. Davidson evinces an intimate acquaintance with the subject which he treats, and embodies 
in his essay a larne amount of valuable matter. The subject is one of intrinsic interest, and will 
well repay the student for the time and labour devoted to its examination."— Western LanceU 



Bouillaud 
ON A G U T E ARTICULAR RHEUMATISM IN GENERAL. 

TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH, 

By JAMES KITCHEN, M.D., Philadelphia. 
1 small vol. 8vo. muslin. 

S. H. Dickson, M.D. 
ON DENGUE: 

By S. HENRY DICKSON, M.D., 

Professor of the Institutes and Practice of Medicine in the Medical College of S.C. 

1 small vol. 8vo. muslin- 




John Macrobin, M.D. 

INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF PRACTICAL 

MEDICINE: 

Being an OutUne of the Leading Facts and Principles qf the Science. 

1 small vol. 8vo. half sheep. 

"Dr. Macrobims work is largely made up of the principles of medicine, embracing the patho- 
logy and etiology of disease, and may therefore be esteemed a nucleus around which the student 
may, with advantage, gather a more extended system." — Western Lancet. 



» a^i m p % i r i j » M ^an»^«»<w»^ 



11 



■ " 1 *" T C^^ 




3iP^5 



BARRINGTON & HASWELL'S 

-4 ' ; • £- 

INDIGESTION. 

Robert Dick, M.D. 

DERANGEMENTS, PRIMARY AND REFLEX, 

@3? itmii @m©A38r§ ©if B3)n@ns i in[@3sro 

By ROBERT DICK, M.D., 

Author of" A Treatise on Diet and Regimen. 

1 vol. 8vo. sheep. 

"Tt is the fullest, most comprehensive, and decidedly the best account of derangements of the 
digestive organs that we have encountered. While it embraces all that is important or interesting 
to be found in the writings of other authors, it contains much original information, which the 
physician will find of great practical usefulness.' — Western and Southern Medical Recorder. 

" We recommend this volume most warmly to the attention of our readers." — London Lancet, 
No. 937. 

" This volume may, in fact, be denominated with no small degree of propriety, an 
encyclopedia of dyspeptic disorders, and we unhesitatingly commend it, as the most 
useful and comprehensive treatise on this class of diseases with which we are ac- 
quainted." — N. ¥. Lancet. 

11 We have perused this work with pleasure and instruction. It is decidedly the 
best compilation in the English language on the extensive class of disorders and dis- 
eases comprehended under the term dyspepsia, united with a very large proportion 
of original matter, both in the form of able comments on other writers, and practical 
information derived from the author's own experience." — Med.-CIiir. Rev. 



EPIDEMICS OF THE MIDDLE AGES. 



I. F. C. Hecker, M.D. 

EPIDEMICS OF THE MIDDLE AGES. 

From the German of 
I. F. C. HECKER, M.D., Etc., Etc. 

Translated by R. G. BAB1NGTON, M.D., F.R.S. 

NO I. THE BLACK DEATH IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY. 

" Hecker's account of the ' Black Death,' which ravaged so large a portion of the globe in the 
fourteenth century, may be mentioned as a work worthy of our notice, both as containing 
many interesting details of this tremendous pestilence, and as exhibiting a curious specimen 
of medical hypothesis." — Cyclopedia of Practical Medicine. 



NO. II. 



THE DANCING MANIA. 



"Medical History has long been in need of the chapter which this book supplies; and the 
deficiency could not have been remedied at a better season. On the whole, the volume ought 
to be popular; to the profession it must prove highly acceptable, as conveying so much infor- 
mation, touching an important subject which had almost been suffered to be buried in obli- 
vion, and we think that to Dr. Babington especial thanks are due for having naturalised so 
interesting a production. The style of the translation, we may add, is free from foreign idioms : 
it reads like an English original."— Lond. Med. Gaz. 



MEDICAL PUBLICATIONS. 



TETANUS. 

Thomas Blizard Curling. 
A TREATISE ON TETANUS. 

BEING THE ESSAY FOR WHICH THE JACKSONIAN PRIZE WAS AWARDED. • 

By THOMAS BLIZARD CURLING, 

Assistant Surgeon to the London Hospital, etc., etc. 

1 vol. 8vo. muslin. 

" This book should be in the library of every surgeon and physician. It is a valuable work 
of reference. It does not pretend to originality, for originality on such a subject was not 
wanted. But a compendium of facts was wanted, and such a compendium is this volume. We 
cannot part from Mr. Curling without thanking him for the information we have received."— 
Med. Chir. Rev. 




INSANITY. 

James Cowles Prichard. 



A TREATISE 



ON 



INSANITY, 

SEEDS MTHMIDc 



By JAMES COWLES PRICHARD, F.R.S., M.D., 

Corg. Member of the Institute of France, etc. 

1 vol. 8vo. sheep. 

*" The author is entitled to great respect for his opinions, not only because he is well known 
as a man of extensive erudition, but also on account of his practical acquaintance with the 
subject on which he writes. The work, we may safely say, is the best, as well as the latest, 
on mental derangement, in the English language." — Medico- Chir. Rev. 



I. G. Millingen. 
APHORISMS ON THE 

TREATMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF THE INSANE. 

WITH CONSIDERATIONS ON PUBLIC AND PRIVATE 

LUNATIC ASYLUMS, 

POINTING OUT THE ERRORS IN THE PRESENT SYSTEM. 

By I. G. MILLINGEN, M.D., 

Late Medical Superintendent of Lunatic Asylum, Hanwell, Middlesex, etc. 

1 vol. 8vo. sheep. 

"Dr. Millingen, in one small pocket volume, has compressed more real solid matter than could 
be gleaned out of any dozen of octavos on the same subject. We recommend his vade mecum as 
the best thing of the kind we ever perused."— Dr. Johnson's Review. 




M. Esquirol. 

A TREATISE ON MENTAL DISEASES 
By M. ESQUIROL. 



BARRINGTON & HASWELL'S 



CHEST. 

Charles J. B. Williams, M.D. 

LECTURES ON THE 

PHYSIOLOGY AND DISEASES OF THE CHEST. 

INCLUDING THE PRINCIPLES OF PHYSICAL AND GENERAL DIAGNOSIS, 

Illustrated by an Exposition of their Physical Signs. 

WITH 

NEW RESEARCHES ON THE SOUNDS OF THE HEART. 

By CHARLES J. B. WILLIAMS, M.D. 

Fourth edition, in press. 1 vol. 8vo. sheep. 

"Evidently written by a man thoroughly acquainted with his subject."— Lancet. 

"We strongly recommend this work to the attention of auscultators."— Med. Chir. Rev. 

" I gladly avail myself of this opportunity of strongly recommending this very valuable work."— 
Dr. JFbrbes's Translation of Laennec. 

"Of all the works on this subject, we are much inclined to prefer that of Dr. Williams."— Med. 
Gazette. 



W. W. Gerhard, M.D. 

LECTURES ON THE DIAGNOSIS, PATHOLOGY. AND TREATMENT OF 
DISEASES OF THE CHEST, 

By W. W. GERHARD, M.D., 

Lecturer on Clinical Medicine in the University of Pennsylvania, etc. 

1 vol. 8vo. sheep. 2d edition, in press. 

" A series of clinical lectures — concise, lucid, and eminently instructive. We have 
no more able expositors of diseases of the chest than Dr. Gerhard, and any work of 
his on these important subjects is certain of grateful acceptance by his professional 
brethren." — New York Lancet. 

"To our readers, therefore, we recommend the book of Dr. Gerhard as the fullest and most judi- 
cious manual, in relation to the diseases of the chest, which they can procure." — Westemand 
Southern Recorder. 

"These lectures constitute a useful and practical digest of the existing knowledge of the diseases 
of the chest (lungs and heart)." — Bulletin of Medical Science. 



G. Hume Weatherhead, M.D. 
A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE PRINCIPAL DISEASES OF THE LUNGS. 

CONSIDERED ESPECIALLY IN RELATION TO THE PARTICULAR TISSUES AFFECTED, 
ILLUSTRATING THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF COUGH. 

By G. HUME WEATHERHEAD, M.D., 

Member of the Royal College of Physicians, Lecturer on the Principles and Practice 
of Medicine, and on Materia Medica and Therapeutics, etc., etc. 

1 vol. 8vo. muslin. 




r~ 



MEDICAL PUBLICATIONS. 



Wra. Stokes, M.D. 
A TREATISE ON THE DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF DISEASES OF THE CHEST. 




By WM. STOKES, M.D., M.R.I.A., Etc. 

Second Edition, with an Introduction and Numerous Notes, 

BY THE AMERICAN EDITOR. 

1 vol. 8vo. sheep. 

u Altogether this is one of the most useful of the publications that have recently issued 
from the press, — one thatshould be studied by every man who presumes to treat the 
class of diseases on which it is written. It is delightful, indeed, to contemplate the 
sound pathology and rational therapeutics which it inculcates; — so dilferent from 
the swelling egotism, the groundless assertions, the illogical conclusions, and often 
empirical treatment, recommended in some of the modern works on these and other 
important medical subjects." — Med. Examiner. 

" The present edition has been much enriched both by the author and editor. No 
inconsiderable part of the book is made up of Dr. Cell's notes, and it now constitutes 
one of our most useful treatises on the diseases of the chest, characterized by sound 
pathology and rational therapeutics." — New York Journal of Medicine. 

" So well-known are the writings of Dr. Stokes, that no effort of the medical press 
in this country is necessary to increase their circulation. Young practitioners would 
find this volume a pathological guide, which they would be unwilling to part with, 
when made familiar with its intrinsic value." Boston Med. and Surg. Jonrn. 



THE H EAR T. 

T. A. Aran. 

A PRACTICAL MANUAL 
ON DISEASES OF THE HEART AND GREAT VESSELS. 

Translated from the French, 
By WILLIAM A. HARRIS, M.D. 

"This is an excellent, epitome of a large and important class of diseases — especially 
as to diagnosis." — Med. Chir. Rev. 

"The Treatises of Senac, of Corvisart, of Laennec, of Bertin, of M. Bouillaud, of 
M. Gendrin, and especially the excellent work of an observer whom death has pre- 
maturely removed from the field of science (Dr. Hope), have been our principal 
guides." — Extract from the Preface. 

" This work, though issued under the modest title of a manual, is yet so comprehen- 
sive as to afford minute instruction on every point of which it treats." — Philad. J\fed. 
Examiner. 

" We do not know of any production in which so much positive knowledge has been compressed 
within moderate limits, and yet clearness of description presented, as inihis manual."'— Bulletin of 
Med. Science. 

" We hope this manual, comprising, as it does, a summary of what has been published in more 
elaborate works, will be extensively read, a/id that the study of it may lead to a more correct 
appreciation of the character of these diseases." — West. Joor. of Med. and Surg. 

" The present treatise will prove of great value, as it really contains all that is well known 
on this most difficult yet important branch of pathology and therapeutics."— West. Lancet. 



BARRINGTON & HASWELL'S 

-* — >- 

John Marshall, M.D. 

P RACTICAL OBSERVATIONS 

ON DISEASES OF THE HEART, LUNGS, STOMACH, LIVER, ETC. 

OCCASIONED BY SPINAL IRRITATION: 
AND ON THE NERVOUS SYSTEM IN GENERAL, AS A SOURCE OF ORGANIC DISEASE. 

Illustrated by Cases. 
By JOHN MARSHALL, M.D. 

1 vol. Svo. muslin. 



CUTANEOUS DISEASES. 
Samuel Plum be. 

A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 

Their Constitutional Causes and Local Character, etc. 

By SAMUEL PLUMBE, 

Late Senior Surgeon to the Royal Metropolitan Infirmary for Children, &c. 

Illustrated with Splendid Coloured Copper-plate and Lithographic Engravings. New 

edition in preparation. 

Pt.umbe on Diseases of the Skin. — "This excellent Treatise upon an order of diseases, the 
pathology of which is, in general, as obscure as the treatment is empirical, has just been repub- 
lished, edited by Dr. John Bell, of this city. We hail with pleasure the appearance of any new 
work calculated to elucidate the intricate and ill-understood subject of skin-diseases. The late 
Dr. Mackintosh, in his Practice of Physic, recommends it as the 'best pathological and prac- 
tical treatise on this class of diseases, which is to be found in any language.' " — Phil. Med. Exam. 

41 This work is one of the most excellent on the Diseases of the Skin in the English language." 
— West. Jour, of Med. and Phys. Sciences. 



Thomas Nunneley. 
A TREATISE ON THE 

NATURE, CAUSES, AND TREATMENT OF ERYSIPELAS. 

By THOMAS NUNNELEY, 

Lecturer on Anatomy, Physiology, and Pathology in the Leeds School of Medicine, 
Surgeon to the General Eye and Ear Infirmary, &c, &c. 

1 vol. Svo. sheep. 

41 The work in its entireness is one which will be accounted necessary to every 
physician's library." — Western Journ. of Medicine and Surgery. 

"Nothing short of a perusal of the entire book will do justice to the author or reader."— 
Western Lancet. 

" Did our space allow, it would be both interesting and profitable to enter into a 
fulKanalysis of this work; but we would advise our readers, one and all, to purchase 
it, and thus judge of its value from a personal examination of its pages." — N. Y.Jour. 
Med. and Collat. Sciences. 

" Mr. Nuuneley contends, and we think with success, that puerperal fever and ery- 
sipelas are one and the same disease, modified by the seat of the inflammation." — 
JV. Orleans Med. Jour. 



16 




MEDICAL PUBLICATIONS. 



CLINICAL MEDICINE. 

P. M. Latham, M.D. 
LECTURES ON SUBJECTS 

CONNECTED WITH CLINICAL MEDICINE. 

By P. M. LATHAM, M.D., 

Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, and Physician to St. Bartholomew's 

Hospital. 

] vol. 8vo. muslin. 

" We strongly recommend them [Latham's Lectures] to our readers; particularly to pupils 
attending the practice of our hospitals." — Lond. Med. Gaz. 



T 



Graves and Gerhard. 

CLINICAL LECTURES. 

By ROBERT J. GRAVES, M.D., M.R.I.A., 

Professor of the Institutes of Medicine in the School of Physic, Trinity College, Dublin. 



WITH ADDITIONAL LECTURES AND NOTES, 

By W. W. GERHARD, M.D., 

Lecturer on Clinical Medicine to the University of Pennsylvania, Physician to the 
Philadelphia Hospital, Blockley, &c. 

1 vol. 8vo. sheep. 

" In the volume before us, a series of clinical lectures by Dr. Gerhard is given, and forms a most 
appropriate and acceptable addition to those of Dr. Graves. Between these two distinguished 
physicians we can trace many points of resemblance. We find in both the same professional zeal, 
— the same powers of close and correct observation, — the same discriminating tact, — the same 
disregard of idle theory, — and the same decision in the application of right principles. No stu- 
dent or practitioner should be without this volume. Itisinitself a library of practical medicine" 
— N. y. Lancet. 



G. Andral's 



CLINIC ON 



:ases 


OF 


THE 


ENCEPHALON. 


a 


a 




ABDOMEN. 


a 


a 




CHEST. 



each forming a distinct 



;; 

Either of the works can be had separate? 

volume. 

Three vols. 8vo. sheep. 

M The * C Unique MedicaW is the great, work of its distinguished author. It is an immense store 
house of invaluable information in pathology and therapeutics. No medical library can be complete 
without it; and every physician, with the smallest pretensions to scientific attainment, or who is 
desirous of discriminating disease accurately, and of treating it skilfully, should study Its pages by 
day and night." 

"Andral's extensive researches in pathology entitle all his works to the careful considera- 
tion of the profession ; and all must agree that this great philosopher has enriched the science 
with many important truths, derived from that fruitful source, clinical observation and induc- 
tion."— Western Lancet. 



17 



2* 





BARRINGTON & HASWELL'S 



URINARY DISEASES. 



Robert Willis, M.D. 

URINARY DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT. 

By ROBERT WILLIS, M.D., 

Physician to the Royal Infirmary for Children, etc., etc. 

" We do not know that a more competent author than Dr. Willis could have been found 
to undertake the task ; possessing, as it is evident from his work that he does possess, an 
accurate acquaintance with the subject in all its details, considerable personal experience in 
the diseases of which he treats, capacity for lucid arrangement, and a style of communication 
commendable in every respect." 

"Our notice of Dr. Willis's work must here terminate. It is one which we have read and 
trust again to read with profit. The history of discovery is successfully given ; cases curious 
and important, illustrative of the^various subjects, have been selected from many new sources, 
as well as detailed from the author's own experience, chemical analyses, not too elaborate, 
have been afforded, which will be most convenient to those who wish to investigate the qualities 
of the urine in disease ; the importance of attending to this secretion in order to a proper un- 
derstanding of disease is strongly insisted upon: in short, a book has been composed, which 
was much required, and which we can conscientiously and confidently recommend as likely to 
be useful to all classes of practitioners." — Brit. $ For. Med. Rev. 



Abraham Colles. 

THE COURSE OF LECTURES ON SURGERY, 

Delivered in the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, 

By the late ABRAHAM COLLES, M.D., 

For Thirty-four years Professor of Surgery in the College. 

From notes collected and repeatedly revised by 
SIMON M'COY, ESQ., F.R.C.S.I. 



Samuel D. Gross, M.D. 

ass iszipimnEffiHE&'S'.&iLi &MW) ®mtm®JLi* nsKgromr 

I2TT0 THE 

NATURE AND TREATMENT OF WOUNDS OF 
THE INTESTINES. 

By SAMUEL D. GROSS, M.D., 

Professor of Surgery in the Louisville Medical Institute. 

Illustrated by Engravings. 1 vol. 8vo. muslin. 

" We consider it a valuable contribution to our literature, and as worthy of the high reputa- 
tion of the author.''— Philad. Med. Exam. 



"We dismiss the 'Experimental Inquiries,' fully persuaded that the valuable 
truths with which they abouud, will be the best recommendation to the medical 
public."— AT. O. Med. Jour. 



\ 18 



A 

-=3S 



MEDICAL PUBLICATIONS, 



Robert Liston. 
ELEMENTS OF SURGERY. 

By ROBERT LISTON, 

Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Loudon and Edinburgh, Surgeon to 

the Royal Infirmary, Senior Surgeon' to the Royal Dispensary for the 

City and County of Edinburgh, Professor of Surgery in 

the London University, etc., etc. 

Edited by SAMUEL D. GROSS, M.D., 

Professor of Surgery, Louisville Medical Institute. Author of Elements of Patho- 
logical Anatomy, etc., etc. 

Third American, from the Second London Edition, with upwards of one hundred 
and sixty illustrative Engravings. 1 vol. 8vo. sheep. 

" We must not forget to mention that the volume is rendered still more attractive by the addition 
of numerous wood engravings (some of them introduced by Dr. Gross), all finely executed. These 
will be found of very considerable advantage to the student, materially assisting him in compre- 
hending the explanation of morbid structure. Another admirable feature, is the printing of the 
notes in type of the same size as that of the text. This obviates almost entirely whatever objec- 
tions can be alleged against foot-notes.'' — Western Jour, of Med. and Surg. 

" We are here presented with a republication of Mr. Liston's admirable and much praised work 
on Surgery, which has been subject to the alembic of a critical and learned friend. Dr. Gross^ He 
has added ' copious notes and additions,' such as the progress of surgery in the United States 
demands in order to meet the wants of the surgeon. Professor Gross ha? also given an entire article 
on Strabismus, and another on Club Feet, which were wholly omitted in the English copies. They 
may be regarded important, inasmuch as they give a completeness to an otherwise unfinished 
treatise. The execution of the book is good ; the paper firm, and well secured in the binding. The 
plates are uniformly well executed, and the impressions distinct."— Boston Med. and Surg. Jour. 

"In another essential feature this edition is greatly improved. With the principles is taught 
also with it the practice of surgery; and both morbid structure and operations are douily described; 
first by the author and editor, and next by the graver of the artist." — Bull. Med. Scien. 

" Mr. Liston's reputation as a clear, accura e, and scientific surgical writer, is so widely known 
and admitted, that formal panegyric is quite unnecessary. Dr. Gross has discharged his duties as 
editor, with all the sound seus;^ accurate discrimination, and experienced judgment, which all who 
knew him expected. The additions and notes are indeed profitable and interesting ; and our only 
regret is, that they are not still more numerous than they are. The volume is inscribed to Profes- 
sor Parker, of the College of Physicians and Surgeons in this city,— the beauty of its typography, 
and • getting up,' will be readily taken for granted by all who know the publishers— and the illus- 
trative engravings are executed in a style very creditable to American art." — JV. Y. Lancet. 

" Mr. Liston has aeon much, thinks accurately, and speaks independently. From a volume 
written by such a man, more really valuable practical instruction is to he derived than from 
all the. books that were ever compiled." — Western and Southern Med. Recorder. 

"This is a work of established reputation. It has gone through two editions in Great Britain, 
and the same number in this country. The additions of the American edition are copious, and 
add materially to the value of the \vork.' , -~jimer. Jour. Med. Sciences. 

"The author is bold and original in his conceptions, accurate in deductions, plain and con- 
cise in style ; a combination of good qualities net often fund united in a single volume. The 
notes and additions by Prof. Gross, are well arranged and judicious, supplying some evident 
deficiencies in the original work." — Western Lancet. 



Sir Astley Cooper, Bart. 
LECTURES ON THE PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF SURGERY. 

By FREDERICK TYRRELL, Esq., 
Surgeon to St. Thomas's Hospital, and to the London Ophthalmic Infirmary. 

Fifth American, from the last London Edition. 1 vol. 8vo. sheep. 



19 



BARRINGTON 8l HASWELL'S 



Sir Charles Bell. 
INSTITUTES OF SURGERY. 

Arranged in the order of the Lectures delivered in the University of Edinburgh. 

By SIR CHARLES BELL, K.G.H., Etc, 
Professor of Surgery in the University of Edinburgh, etc., etc. 

1 vol. 8vo. sheep. 

"In a work on Surgery, of 448 pages, by Sir Charles Bell, we would expect every line to contain 
important matter; and this is really the case."— Western Lancet. 

'< Respecting the high merit of the present performance, there is an equal unanimity of judgment 
among all who have examined it."— Maryland Med. and Surg. Journ. 



John Hunter. 

LECTURES ON THE PRINCIPLES OF SURGERY. 

By JOHN HUNTER, F.R.S. 

With Notes, by JAMES F. PALMER, 

Senior Surgeon to the St. George's and St. James's Dispensaries, etc., etc. 

With Plates, 1 vol. 8vo. sheep. 

•' We cannot bring our notice of the present volume to a close without offering our testimony 
to the admirable manner in which the editor and annotator has fulfilled his part of the under- 
taking. The advancements and improvements that have been effected, up to our own day, not 
only in practical surgery, but in all the collateral departments, are constantly brought before 
the reader's attention in clear and concise terms." — Brit. $■ For. Med. Rev. 



VENEREAL. 

John Hunter, F.R.S. 

TREATISE ON THE VENEREAL DISEASE. 

With Notes, by Dr. BABINGTON. 

With Plates. 1 vol. 8vo. 

" Under the hands of Mr Babington, who has performed his task as editor in a very exemplary 
manner, the work has assumed quite a new value, and may now be as advantageously placed 
in the library of the student as in that of the experienced surgeon." — Brit. # For. Med. Rev. 

" The notes, in illustration of the text, contain a summary of our present know- 
ledge on the subject; the manner in which these notes are constructed is at once 
clever and perspicuous; and the modes of treatment prescribed, spring from a right 
apprehension of the disease. We would recommend to the reader the note on the 
primary venereal sore; the note itself b an essay in every word of which we fully 
concur." — Med. Gaz. 



20 




MEDICAL PUBLICATIONS. 




THE SPJNE. 

« R. W. Bampfield. 

ON CURVATURES & DISEASES OF THE SPINE, 

INCLUDING ALL THE FORMS OF SPINAL DISTORTION. 
Bv K. W. BAMPFIELD, 

One of the Surgeons to the Royal Metropolitian Infirmary for Diseases of Children. 
Edited by J. K. MTCHELL, M.D., 

Professor of the Practice of Medicine in Jefferson Medical College of 
Philadelphia, &c, &c. 

"The very best treatises on spinal diseases and their treatment extant." — JlIed.Ezam. 



TH E EAR. 

Ceorge Pilcher. 

A TREATISE ON THE STRUCTURE, ECONOMY, 
AND DISEASES OF THE EAR. 

BEING THE ESSAY FOR WHICH THE FOTHKRG ILLIAST GOLD MEDAl WAS AWARDED 
BY THE MEDICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. 

By GEORGE PILCHER, 

Late Lecturer on Anatomy, Lecturer on Surgery at the Theatre of Anatomy and Medi- 
cine, Webb St., Borough, and Senior Surgeon to the Surrey Dispensatory. 

First American, from the Second London edition, with Notes and numerous 
Illustrative Plates. 1 vol. 8v0. sheep. 



" The perusal of this work has afforded us much pleasure — A work was wanted 
to place the whole subject within the prasp of all persons who chose to devote some 
little exclusive or particular study to the diseases of the ear, and this has fairly and 
well supplied the place." — JVLcd. Chir. Rev. 

"Mr. Pilcher is an experienced, well-informed, and able practitioner, and his treatise on the ear 
deserves to be ranked amongstthe best which have appeared upon the interesting, but too generally 
neglected, department of surgery to which it relates."— Maryland Med- and Sukg. Jou'kn. 

"This is a most valuable treatise, illustrated with elegant- plates, is a standard work, and must 
have a great sale in its present form. It tells all about the anatomy and diseases of the ear." — 
N. Y. Herald. 



GUMS. 

George Waite. 
THE GUMS: 

WITH LATE DISCOVERIES ON THEIR 

STRUCTURE, GROWTH, CONNECTIONS, DISEASES, AND SYMPATHIES, 

By GEORGE WAITE, 
Member of the London Royal College of Physicians. 




£ 



? 



BARRINGTON & HASWELL'S 



A TREAT 



TEETH. 

John Hunter. 

I S E ON THE 

By JOHN HUNTER. 



TEETH 



With Notes, by THOMAS BELL, F.R.S. 
With Plates. 1 vol. 8vo. muslin. 

" The treatise on the teeth is edited hy Mr. Bell, a gentleman accomplished in his art. Mr. 
Bell has studied his subject with the greatest minuteness and care ; and in appropriate notes at 
the foot of the page corrects the author with the air of a gentleman, and the accuracy of a 
man of science. The matter contained in these short notes forms an ample scholum to the 
text ; and without aiming at the slightest display of learning, they at the same time exhibit a 
ready knowledge on every point, and an extensive information both of comparative anatomy 
and pathology." — Med. Gazette. 



MINOR SURGERY. 

Henry H. Smith, M.D. 

MINOR SURGERY: 

@m, eiiiete'B ©m fin utosbt^isa^ nsw^nn® ©if usee iwm@^®Ko 

By HENRY H. SMITH, M.D., 

Lecturer on Minor Surgery, Fellow of the College of Physicians, etc., etc 

Illustrated by numerous Engravings. 1 vol. 18mo. muslin. 

" And a capital little book it is Minor Surgery, we repeat, is really Major Sur- 
gery, and any thing which teaches it is worth having. So we cordially recommend 
this little book of Dr. Smith's."— Med. Chir. Rev. 

" This beautiful little work has been compiled with a view to the wants of the pro- 
fession in the matter of Bandaging, &c, and well and ably has the author performed 
his labours." — Med. Examiner. 

" To students we would particularly recommend Dr. Smith's work ; and with it in 
their possession, they would be able to carry out to great advantage the advice of 
an eminent professor of a neighbouring city — 'Provide yourselves each with half 
a dozen rollers, and after your day's study is over, just before going to bed, amuse 
yourselves by bandaging each other. It is the only way to acquire an art, ignorantly 
underrated, but of immense importance.' " — Boston Med. and Surg. Journ. 

'■'This is an excellent Treatise on Bandaging,and will prove of great assistance to the student 
and to the country practitioner." " The book is very handsomely illustrated with a great number 
of excellent wood-cuts. The paper and type are good. We repeat, in conclusion, our very favour- 
able estimation of its merits." — Med. Exam. 

" We venture to predict for this little volume a successful career, for we have here a means 
adapted to an end." " Here are furnished to the student all the various inventions and modifica- 
tions of bandages and apparatus, more especially by the American Surgeons, Physick, Dorsey, 
Gibson, Barton, Ooates, Hartshorne, and N. R. Smith." — N. Y. Jour, of Med. 

" We have no hesitation in asserting, that it is an excellent, we were going to say indispensable, 
aid to all those who wish to qualify themselves for the practice of surgery." — Bull, of Med. Science. 



V 



BSX2D WAFERS' AZfD DISEASES OF WOMEN, 

Robert Lee. 

LECTURES ON THE 

THEORY AND PRACTICE OF MIDWIFERY. 

DELIVERED IN THE THEATRE OF ST. GEORGE'S HOSPITAL. 

Bt ROBERT LEE, M.D., F.R.S., 

Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, London; Physician to the British Lying-in 

Hospital ; and Lecturer on Midwifery at St. George's Hospital. 

Illustrated with numerous Wood Engravings. 1 vol. 8vo. 

" Dr. Lee's former reputation for large practical knowledge of obstetrics is fully 
sustained in the present work." " The style is plain and clear, and the facts and cases 



fr— 



MEDICAL PUBLICATIONS, 



\)pp 



are presented with due succinctness. One important feature is the introduction of 
tables of the results of certain operations, as of craniotomy, and of certain diseases of 
the puerperal state, as puerperal fever; which constitute a statistical basis for future 
observations and a present support for active and available practice." — Bulletin of 
JWedical Science. 

" Dr. Lee is too good and sensible an author to be reviewed. He should be read. 
He has already, though but a young man, become illustrious by his earlier works." 
— Philad. JVLed. Exam. 

"We can cheerfully commend it to the notice of students of medicine." — Western 
Lancet. 

" It is the production of a highly cultivated and practical mind, and has been ela- 
borated with a degree of judgment and care which must render the Lectures a valu- 
able record of professional learning and experience." — Western Journal of Med. 
Sciences. 

" While they are well adapted for the instruction of the student of midwifery, the 
Lectures of Dr. Lee may be consulted by the young practitioner with much satisfac- 
tion and profit. The wood engravings, by which the text is accompanied, are well 
executed, and communicate a very accurate idea of the subjects they are intended to 
illustrate." — Amer. Jour. JMed. Science. 

u Every passage will indicate in the author a discriminating, practical mind, en- 
lightened by learning, and extensive observation." " it is a store-house of facts 
from which the student may enrich his mind, and to which the practitioner may 
apply to refresh his memory." — Western Jour. 

" The aim of the publishers was to give to the profession one of the very best 
systems of midwifery in the language for the least money — to place a volume of 
unquestionable excellence within the reach of every medical man in the couutry. 
They have been successful." — Ibid. 

"The present production of Dr. Lee will always rank high, as the offspring of a 
vigorous mind, stored with all the learning relating to the subject, and enriched with 
the results of the most extensive experience." — N. Orleans Med. Jour. 




James Blundell, M.D. 

LECTURES ON THE 
PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF MIDWIFERY. 

By JAMES BLUNDELL, M.D. 

Edited bt Charles Severn, M.D. 

1 vol. 8vo. sheep. 

" The eminently fluent and agreeable style — the large and accurate information — the great 
experience, and original mind of Dr. Blundell, have secured for him a very enviable reputation as 
a public lecturer. It is impossible to read these lectures without being delighted — it is equally im- 
possible to avoid being instructed. Were these discourses moie generally diffused and studied here 
— were their sound and judicious directions recollected, and their salutary cautions observed, we 
would hear of fewer cases of malpractice. This work forms a complete system of midwifery, with 
the diseases of th^ puerperal state and of the infant. 1 ' — N. Y. Lancet. 



Robert Collins, M.D. 
A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON MIDWIFERY. 

CONTAINING THE RESULTS OF SIXTEEN THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED AND FIETY-EOUB 
BIRTHS, OCCURRING IN THE DUBLIN LYING-IN HOSPITAL. 

By ROBERT COLLINS, M.D., Late Master of the Institution. 
1 vol. 8vo. sheep. 

■ The author of this work has employed the numerical method of M. Louis ; and by accurate 
tables of classification, enables his readers to perceive, at a glance, the consequences of the 
diversified conditions, in which he saw his patients. A vast amount of information is thus 
obtained, which is invaluable to those who duly appreciate precision in the examination of 
cases." — Bait. Chron. 



23 




BARRINGTON & HASWELL'S 

-4- 1- 

; 

Robert Gooch, M.D. 
A PRACTICAL COMPENDIUM OF MIDWIFERY- 

Being the Course of Lectures on Midwifery, and on the Diseases of Women 

and Infants delivered at St. Bartholomew s Hospital. 

Bt the late ROBERT GOOCH, M.D. 

PREPAHED BY GEORGE SKINNER, 

Member of the Royal College of Surgeons, London. 

1 vol. 8vo. sheep. \ 
i 

PUERPERAL FEVER. 

Gordon, Hey, Armstrong, Lee, and C. D. Meigs. 

THE HISTORY, PATHOLOGY, AND TREATMENT OF 
PUERPERAL FEVER AND CRURAL PHLEBITIS. 

Br Drs. Gordon, Het, Armstrong, and Lee. 

WITH AN INTRODUCTORY ESSAY 

By CHARLES D. MEIGS, M.D., 

Professor of Obstetrics and the Diseases of Women and Children in the Jefferson 

Medical College, Philadelphia. 

I vol. 8vo. sheep. 

"We have peculiar satisfaction, in announcing the publication of this very judiciously arranged 
series of treatises, on one ol the must important and interesting diseases, which demand the atten- 
tion of the physician." "Dr. Meigs's Introductory Essay is concise and judicious, and will be read 
with profit. He speaks in the highest terms of commendation of Dr. Gordon's invaluable treatise — 
a treatise which cannot be too generally diffused and studied. Altogether this volume presents the 
most acceptable and useful compend of the doctrines and practice of the best authorities, with 
regard to 'Puerperal Fever,' with which we have ever met."— A". Y. Lancet. 

" We are pleased to see the republication of these valuable monographs upon Puer- 
peral Fever. As they are all of them Essays founded upon an extensive observation , 
and contain a very large number of recorded cases, they must always be valuable." 
' — New England Journal of Medical Science. 

" Taken in connexion, the treatise it comprises present an invaluable mass of facts 
in relation to Child-bed Fever, without an acquaintance with which no one can, with 
propriety, be considered fully qualified to undertake its management." — Tournal of 
JHedical Science. 



UTERUS. 

Waller, Lisfranc, and Ingleby. 

LECTURES ON THE FUNCTIONS AND DISEASES OF THE WOMB. 

Bx CHAS. WALLER, M.D., Bartholomew's Hospital. 

ON DISEASES OF THE UTERUS AND ITS APPENDAGES. 

Br M. LISFRANC, La Pitie Hospital. 

ON DISEASES OF THE PUERPERAL STATE. 

Br J. T. INGLEBY, Edinburgh. 
1 vol. 8vo. sheep. 

" We can very cordially recommend them as affording a concise and practical exposition of the 
pathology and treatment of a most important class of diseases, and which cannot be too attentively 
studied."— N. Y. Lancet. 

li The present volume contains a short and succinct practical account of the principal morbid 
states either of the functions or the structure of the womb, the best methods of distinguishing them, 
and the means which experience has shown to be the most effectual in removing them. The reader 
will find that he obtains, in a small compass, a distinct view of the nature and treatment of each 
disorder."— Edinb. Med. and Surg. Journ. 



24 



f 



MEDICAL PUBLICATIONS 



1 



DISEASES OP CHIXtBB.12^'. 
Evanson and Maunsell. 

A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE DISEASES AND MANAGEMENT OF CHILDRE N , 

Br RICHARD T. EVANSON, M.D., 

Professor of Medicine, — and 

HENRY MAUNSELL, M.D., 

Professor of Midwifery in the College of Surgeons, Ireland. 

Edited bt D. F. CONDIE,M.D. 

From the Fourth Dublin Edition. 1 vol. 8vo. sheep. 

"The second chapter embraces the Management and Physical Education of Chil- 
dren. This chapter ought to be printed in gold letters, and hung up in the nursery of 
every family. It would save many lives, and prevent much suffering.'' — Medico- 
Chirarg. Rev. 

" As this Practical Treatise on the Diseases of Children has before been made known 
to the medical public, we dare not suppose it a new thing to any intelligent practi- 
tioner in this country ; still, there may be those who do not own a copy — and to such 
there is nothing ungenerous in saying we wish that they may always have it in their 
power to consult such authority." — Boston Med. and Surg. Journ. 

" The present edition is enlarged, and in its present form constitutes one of the best 
works on the subject in our language. We do not intend to say that it is by no means 
unexceptionable, but that at this time we know of no English production on the same 
subject which is superior, or perhaps, on the whole, as good." — Philad. Med. Exam. 

Michael Underwood, M.D. 
A TREATISE ON THE DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 

WITH DIItECTIONS FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF INFANTS. 

By the late MICHAEL UNDERWOOD, M.D. 

From the Ninth Eriglish Edition, -with Notes, 

By S. Merriman, M.D., and Marshall Hall, M.D., F.R.S., Etc. 

with notes, by john eell, m.d. , etc., of Philadelphia. 

1 vol. 8vo. sheep. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

J. L. Ludlow, M.D. 
A MANUAL OF EXAMINATIONS 

UPON ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY, SURGERY, PRACTICE OF MEDICINE, 

CHEMISTRY, MATERIA MEDICA, OBSTETRICS, ETC. 

Designed for the Use of Students of Medicine throughout the United States. 

By J. L. LUDLOW, M.D. 
1 vol. 12mo. 

" We have no hesitation in sayine, that Dr. Ludlow's Manual is decidedly the best, both in rela- 
tion to comprehensiveness and gene~ral accuracy, that has yet been published in thi country." — 
West. Lancet. 

"In this ' Manual of Examinations' the questions are clearly put, and, with few 
exceptions, well and distinctly answered." "The Manual will be found to be equally 
available at the three schools in Philadelphia, as at the two in New York, or those 
of Louisville, Lexington, and Cincinnati, or of Charleston, Augusta, and New 
Orleans, not to mention the numerous confreries for teaching down East." — Bidl. 
Med. Science. 

W' We have no hesitation in saying, that Dr. Ludlow's Manual is decidedly the 
best, both in relation to comprehensiveness and general accuracy, that has yet been 
published in this country.'' — Western Lancet. 

" There is nothing particularly new in this method of imparting instruction ; it is 
an old, but long approved system, which commends itself to the good sense of all 



25 



BARRINGTON 8l HASWELL'S 
-=* *=- 

well regulated minds. Dr. Ludlow discovers a minute knowledge with all the 
leading departments of professional lore, which he imparts agreeably. He is careful 
to be exact, without being redundant in any paragraph." — Boston Med. and Surg. Jour. 
" Between all the classes whose comfort the Student's Manual is designed to pro- 
mote, we should think it would obtain not a little currency." — West. Journ. 

Robert Christison, M.D. 
A TREATISE ON POISONS 

IN RELATION TO MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE, PHYSIOLOGY, AND THE PRACTICE 

OF PHYSIC. 

By ROBERT CHRISTISON, M.D., F.R.S.E., 

Professor of Materia Medica in the University of Edinburgh, &c, &c. 

"We cannot but hail with satisfaction a new edition of this standard classical book. 
Its merits are too well acknowledged for it to be necessary to say anything further in 
its behalf. Wherever Toxicology is known as a science, Professor Christison's 
Treatise is received as an authority of the greatest weight." — Lancet. 

" We have the pleasure of announcing to our readers the appearance of the fourth 
edition of this valuable treatise. Its character is so well established as a standard 
work in the Medical Literature of this country, that it needs no encomium from us. 
It is now fifteen years since the first edition of this work appeared, and it is only doing, 
justice to it to assert that it has uniformly maintained its popularity as a work for re- 
ference and practice. It has, for a long period, been in the hands of barristers, who 
have not failed to make a good use of it in the cross examination of medical witnesses; 
and we believe there are few medical men who venture into the witness box on a trial 
for poisoning, without having at least consulted it respecting some point on which 
their evidence is likely to be impugned." 

" The fourth edition is well calculated to uphold the high reputation of its author." 
— Lond. Med. Gaz. for Jan. 1845. 

NOTICES OF FORMER EDITIONS. 

" It is beyond comparison the most valuable Practical Treatise on Toxicology 
extant." — Lond. Med. and Phys. Jour. 

" Dr. Christison's great work on Poisons is by far the best on Medical Jurispru- 
dence in our language." — Blackwood 's Mag. 

" One of the greatest additions that has been made to the stores of Medical, and 
especially of Medico-legal literature." — Buchner's Rep. 

Thomas Henderson, M.D., U.S.A., 
HINTS ON THE MEDICAL EXAMINATION OF RECRUITS FOR THE ARMY- 

AND ON THE DISCHARGE OF SOLDIERS FROM THE SERVICE ON THE 

SURGEON'S CERTIFICATE. 

Adapted to the Service of the United States. 

By THOMAS HENDERSON, M.D., 

Assistant Surgeon United States' Army, etc., etc. 

Prof. W. E. Horner, M.D. 
NECROLOGICAL NOTICE OF DR. P. S. PHYSICK. 

Delivered before the American Philosophical Society, May 4, 1838. 

By PROF. W. E. HORNER, M.D. 

Pamphlet. 



Drewry Otlley. 

THE LIFE OF JOHN HUNTER, F.R.S. • 

By DREWRY OTTLEY. 

1 small vol. 8vo. 
"In the summing up of Mr. Hunter's character, Mr. Ottley exhibits equal judg- 
ment and candour." — British and Foreign Medical Review. 

- — =a 



MEDICAL PUBLICATIONS. 

-«* — — — 1- 

Thomas J. Pettigrew 

ON SUPERSTITIONS 

CONNECTED WITH THE 
HISTORY AND PRACTICE OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY. 
By THOS. JOSEPH PETTIGREW, F.R.S., F.S.A., 
Doctor of Philosophy to the University of Gottingen, &c., &c. 

1 vol, 12mo. 

" The book will prove instructive, not only on account of the extensive learning which it 
displays, but the numerous and curious facts which it develops."— JV. Orleans Med. Jour. 

" Mr. Pettigrew's hook is amusing to such as are inclined to smile, and instructive to those 
who are willing to reflect. 1 ' — Med. Chir. Rev. 

" From the follies of the past we may derive wisdom for the future, and there is much 
in the volume before us that may be profitably used for this purpose. — Med. Exam. 

" It is the common-place book of a literary physician with a running commentary, 
giving a unity and continuity to the mosaic." — Brit, and For. Med. Rev. 

" We do not know of pleasanter readiug, either for the physician in the between- 
whiles of professional labour, or for the general reader who loves to study human 
nature in its external and often eccentric workings." — Bull. Med. Science. 

" We heartily commend this little work to the curious of all classes of readers." — 
N. Y. Journ. Med. and Collat. Sciences. 

" We take leave. of his book, from which we have derived not only entertainment 
but instruction." — West. Journ. 

Edwin Lee. 
OBSERVATIONS ON THE PRINCIPAL MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS 

AND 

PRACTICE OF FRANCE, ITALY, AND GERMANY. 

WITH KOTICES OF THE UNIVERSITIES, AND CASES FROM HOSPITAL PRACTICE .' 

With an Appendix on 

By EDWIN LEE, 

Member of the Royal College of Surgeons, &c. 
1 vol.8vo. muslin. 

"Mr. Lee has judiciously selected some clinical cases, illustrating the practice pursued at the 
different hospitals, and he has wound up the volume with an amusing account of animal mag- 
netism and homoeopathy — those precious effusions of German idealty, for which we refer to 
the work itself." — Medico-Chirurg. Rev. 

Jas. W. Dale, M.D. 

IS MEDICAL SCIENCE FAVOURABLE TO SCEPTICISM! 

By JAMES W. DALE, M.D. of Newcastle, Del. 

Pamphlet. 



G. R. B. Horner. M.D., U.S.N. 

MEDICAL AND TOPOGRAPHICAL OBSERVATIONS UPON THE MEDITERRANEAN 

and upon 

PORTUGAL. SPAIN, AND OTHER COUNTRIES. 

By G. R. B. HORNER, M.D., 

Surgeon U. S. Navy, and Honorary Member of the Philadelphia Medical Society. 

With Engravings. 1 vol. 8vo. muslin. 

" An uncommonly interesting book is presented to those who have any disposition to know 
the things medical in Portugal. Spain, and other countries," and " will doubtless be read, also, 
with marked satisfaction by all who have a taste for travels." — Bost. Med. and Surg. Jour. 




MEDICAL PUBLICATIONS. 



Wm. C. Wells, M.D. 
AN ESSAY ON DEW, 

And several appearances connected with it. 
By WILLIAM CHARLES WELLS, M.D., F.R.S. 

IiIVER. AND SPLEEN. 

Thomson and Twining. I 

DISEASES OF 

THE LIVER AND BILIARY PASSAGES. 
By WILLIAM THOMSON, 

One of the Physicians of the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh ; 

AND CLINICAL \ 

ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE LIVER AND SPLEEN. 

By WILLIAM TWINING, \ 

Surgeon of General Hospital of Calcutta, &c, &c. 
1 vol. 8vo. sheep. 

" The work before us is an excellent compilation of the subject of hepatic affections, functional 
and structural ; and, as such, it is infinitely more valuable to practitioners and students, than any 
original essay, however ably executed. We cannot do better, therefore, than strongly recommend 
the work as the best in the English language, on the important subjects of which it treats.'' — 
Medico-Chirurg. Rev. 

John G. Malcolmson, M.D. 
CLINICAL REMARKS ON SOME CASES OF 

LIVER ABSCESS PRESENTING EXTERNALLY. 

By JOHN G. MALCOLMSON, M.D., 

Surgeon Hon. E. I. C. Service, Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society, and the 
Geological Society, London. 

1 vol. 8vo. 



JOHN HUCTTER'S WORKS. 

Comprising his Lectures on the Principles of Surgery ; A Treatise on the 

Teeth ; Treatise on the Venereal Diseases ; Treatise on Inflammation 

and Gunshot Wounds ; Observations on Certain Parts of the 

Animal (Economy; and a full and comprehensive JMemoir. 

Each of the Works is edited by men of celebrity in the Medical Science, and the 

whole under the superintendence of 

JAMES F. PALMER, 

Of the St. George's and St. James's Dispensary. 

4 vols. 8vo. 

This is the only complete edition of the works of the distinguished physiologist 
ever published in this country. 

" One distinctive feature ofthe present edition of Hunter's works hasbeen already mentioned, 
viz. : in the addition of illustrative notes, which are not thrown in at hazard, but are written by 
men who are already eminent for their skill and attainments on the particular subjects which 
they have thus illustrated. By this means, whilst we have the views entire of John Hunter in 
the text, we are enabled by reference to the accompanying notes, to see wherein the author is 
borne out by the positive knowledge ofthe present day, or to what extent his views require 
modification and correction. The names of the gentlemen who have in this manner assisted 
Mr. Palmer, are guarantees of the successful performance of their task." — Med. Gaz. 



28 



Any person ordering Books to the value of Ten Dollars from the following 
list, and remitting the amount free of postage, will be entitled to the Bulletin 
of Medical Science for one year, gratis. 

LIST OF WORKS 

SUPPLIED AS 

SELECT MEDICAL LIBRARY 

EXTRAS, — BY MAIL. 

Barrington and Haswell will furnish the following Works as Extras; 
they are stitched in thick paper covers, with strong elastic backs, similar to the 
regular numbers ; they can be sent by mail at the Periodical charge for Postage, 
which is per sheet, if under 100 miles, 1^ cents, exceeding that distance, 2J 
cents. 

To the name of each work is stated its number of sheets and the sellino* 
price; so that any gentleman desirous of having one or more Extras will, by 
remitting a note, (or order payable in Philadelphia,) be furnished, by return 
of mail, with whatever he may select, to the amount. 

The Post Office regulations permit Postmasters the privilege of franking 
all letters with remittances for Periodicals. 



N.B. Those works comprised within brackets are bound in one volume, and 

must be ordered as one Extra. 



j Ludlow's Student's Manual. 16 sheets . . . $ 1 60 

| Pettigrew's Superstitions Connected with the History and Practice of Medicine 

and Surgery. 6 sheets .... ... 60 

\ Lee's Observations on the Principal Medical Institutions and Practiced . f 

< ' c n t • to ' 

• oi t ranee, Italy, and Germany, &c. ; with an Appendix on Animal | « | 

| Magnetism and Homoeopathy, } J <( 1 35 

5 Johnstone's Syllabus of Materia Medica, |^| 

? Latham's Lectures on Clinical Medicine, J ^ L 

I A Treatise on Tetanus. By Thomas B. Curling. ) . ( 

i Bouillaud on Acute Articular Rheumatism in general. Translated from >£ < 80 

$ the French, by James Kitchen, M.D. ) ( 

I Practical Obseivations on Diseases of the Heart, Lungs, Stomach, ) ( 

j Liver, &c. By John Marshall, M.D., &c, > M ' <J 80 

S Weaiherhead on Diseases of the Lungs, )°° ( 

I Prichard on Insanity and other Mental Diseases. 14 sheets . 1 25 

Ij Davidson and Hudson's Essays on the Sources and Mode of Action 

of Fever. 8 sheets . . . . . , 80 

Macrobin's Introduction to the Study of Practical Medicine. 6 sheets . 70 

Sir James Clark on the Sanative Influence of Climate. 8 sheets . . 80 

Changes of the Blood in Disease. By M. Gibert. 3 sheets . . 50 

Sir Charles Bell's Institutes of Surgery. 19 sheets . , . 1 50 

Epidemics of the Middle Ages, by Hecker. 7 sheets 60 
I 



MEDICAL PUBLICATIONS 




Army Meteorological Register for the years 1826, 1827, 1828, 1829, aml^ J f 
1830. I g I 

Hints on the Medical Examination of Recruits for the Army. By ; -g ) 
Thomas Henderson, M.D., Assistant Surgeon U. S. Army, &c.J ^ {_ 



30 



65 






Bampfield on Curvatures of the Spine. Including all the Forms of Spinal 
Distortion. 10 sheets . . . . . . $1 25 

Nunneley's Treatise on the Nature, Causes, and Treatment of Erysipelas 
10 sheets . . . . . . . . . 1 25 

Williams's Principles of Medicine : Comprehending General Pathology and 
Therapeutics. sheets . . . . . . . 1 25 

Lee's Theory and Practice of Midwifery. Illustrated with numerous En- 
gravings. 22 sheets . . . . . . 2 00 

TurnbulFs Treatise on the Medical Properties of the Natural order ^ w . f 

RanunculacesB, &c.,&c. I "3 J \ 

The Gums ; their Structure, Diseases, Sympathies, &c. By George ^Jj < 85 \ 
Waite. | M I 

An Essay on Dew, &c. By W. C. Wells, F.R.S. J °* I. 

t 

Collins's Practical Treatise on Midwifery. 11 sheets . . . 1 25 J 

Evanson and Maunsell on the Management and Diseases of Children. With 
Notes, by D. F. Condie, M.D. 16 sheets . . . . 1 75 < 

Edwards on the Influence of Physical Agents on Life ; with observations on 

Electricity, &c. 10 sheets . . .V . • * 00 

Horner's Necrological Notice of Dr. P. S. Physick. "1 ^ f 

Is Medical Science Favourable to Scepticism? By Dr. Dale, of New- \%\ 

castle, Delaware, ^ ■% ^ 

On Dengue ; its History, Pathology, and Treatment. By Prof. Dick- | | 

son of S. C. J°° I 

Freckleton's Outlines of General Pathology. 7 sheets . .75 

Urinary Diseases and their Treatment. By R. Willis, M.D., &c. 10 sheets, 1 00 

Andral's Medical Clinic : 3 vols. 8vo. 

Diseases of the Encephalon, lvol. 13 sheets . . • j »[j 

Diseases of the Abdomen, „ 18 ,, . • • \cs\ 

Diseases of the Chest, 17 „ . • l 5U 

Aran's Practical Manual on Diseases of the Heart and Great Vessels. 

1 vol. 18mo. 7 sheets ...... * ou 

A Treatise on the Structure, Economy, and Diseases of the Ear. By George 

Pilcher. With numerous illustrative Plates. 13 sheets . . . 1 75 

Lectures on Bloodletting. By Dr. Clutterbuck. 5 sheets . . 65 

Medical and Topographical Observations upon the Mediterranean. By G. R. B. 
Horner, Surgeon U.S.N. , <fcc. Illustrated with Engravings. 9 sheets, 100 

Magendie's Lectures on the Blood. 12 sheets . • • 1 25 

Holland's Medical Notes and Reflections. 16 sheets . . . 1 60 



FURNISHED BY MAIL. 



Macartney on Inflammation. 5 sheets . . . . . $ 50 

Burne on Habitual Constipation — its Causes and Consequences. 7 sheets, 75 

Esquirol on Mental Diseases. > n I 

An Essay on Hysteria. By Thomas Laycock. j°j L uu 

Clinical Remarks on Liver Abscess. By John G. Malcolmson, M.D., ) m C 
Thomson's Notices of Inflammatory Affections of the Internal Organs > w * < 45 

after External Injuries and Surgical Operations. )"* ( 

Gooch's Practical Compendium of Midwifery. 14 sheets . . .100 

Graves Clinical Lectures. With Notes and Fifteen additional Lectures, bv 
W. W. Gerhard, M.D. 23 sheets * . 2 50 

Elements of Surgery, in Three Parts. By Robert Liston. Edited by Samuel 

D. Gross, M.D., Professor of Surgery. 1 vol. 8vo. 27 sheets . ,3 00 

The History, Pathology, and Treatment, of Puerperal Fever and Crural 
Phlebitis. By Drs. Gordon, Hey, Armstrong, and Lee; with an Introduc- 
tory Essay by Charles D. Meigs, M.D. 1 vol. 8vo. 14 sheets . .160 

\ 
Derangements, Primary and Reflex, of the Organs of Digestion. By Robert 

Dick, M.D. 1 vol. 8vo. 10 sheets . 1 40 I 

Diseases of the Liver and Biliary Passages, by William Thomson. And 
Clinical Illustrations of the Liver and Spleen. By William Twining. 
1 vol. 8vo. 14 sheets . . . . . . . . 1 60 

A Treatise on the Diseases of Children, with directions for the Management 
of Infants ; by the late Michael Underwood, M.D. From the ninth Euglish 
edition, with notes by S. Merriman, M.D., and Marshall Hall, M.D., 
. F.R.S., &c. With notes, by John Bell, M.D., &c. 16 sheets . . 1 75 

Lectures on the Functions and Diseases of the Womb; by Charles^ f 
Waller, M.D., Bartholomew's Hospital. | » j 

On Diseases of the Uterus and its Appendages; by M. Lisfranc, La ! g J -, ir 
Pitie Hospital. f-g j 

On Diseases of the Puerperal State; by J. T. Ingleby, Edinburgh, J o 
1 vol. 8vo. J ^ L 

Aphorisms on the Treatment and Management of the Insane ; by J. G. Mil- 
lingen, M.D. 4 sheets ....... 38 

A Practical Dictionary of Materia Medica. By John Bell, M.D. 1 vol. 8vo. 

20 sheets 2 25 

Outlines of Pathological Semeiology. Translated from the German of Prof. 

Schill. 1 vol. 8vo. 9 sheets . . . . . . 1 00 

Aretaeus on the Causes and Signs of Acute and Chronic Disease. From the 
^Greek. 1 vol. 8vo. 4 sheets ...... 50 

Blundell's Lectures on the Principles and Practice of Midwifery. Edited by 

Charles Severn. 1vol. 8 vo. 19 sheets . . . . .2 00 



31 



M% 



WORSES SN rHHFAEATI01 < . 



A Series of Clinical Lectures on Subjects of Practical Surgery, de- 
livered at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, by Mr. Stanley, and illustrated 
with wood-cuts. 

Principles and Practice of Medical Jurisprudence. By John Bell, M.D. 

Latham's Medical Clinic : comprising Diseases of the Heart. 

The Physiology, Hygiene, and Pathology of Persons engaged in pur- 
suits requiring intense Mental Application. By D. Spillan, A.M., 
M.D., &c, &c. 

Clinical Lectures on Syphilitic Diseases. By Richard Carmichael, 
M.R.I. A., President of the Medical Association of Ireland, &c. 

A Course of Lectures on those Diseases of the Brain which affect the 
Mind, and produce Insanity. Delivered in Paris, by M. Baillarger, 
Physician to the Hospital Salpetriere. 
These Lectures exhibit a complete view of the principles on which 

the diagnosis, treatment, . and modern pathology of Diseases of the 

Mind are founded, regarding insanity wholly as a branch of Medical 

Science. 

Wharton Jones's Manual of Ophthalmic Medicine and Surgery. 

Blundell on Diseases of Females, a new and improved edition. 

Practical Observations and Suggestions in Medicine. By Marshall 
Hall, M.D., F.R.S. 

The Diagnosis, Pathological Indications, and Treatment of Urinary 
Deposits. By Golding Bird, M.D. 

Outlines of Human Physiology. By Wm. P. Alison,. M.D., F.R.S.E., 

&c, &e. 

Spasm, Languor, Palsy, and other disorders, termed Nervous, of the 
Muscular System. By J. A. Wilson, M.D. 

Practical Remarks on Gout, Rheumatic Fever, and Chronic Inflamma- 
tion of the Joints. By R. B. Todd, M.D., F.R.S. 



3? 




THiSOSiOGICAXi AND SCHOOZi BOOKS. 



BARRINGTON & HASWELL 



ALSO PUBLISH A VERY POPULAR EDITION OF 

THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT 

Without Note or Comment, in large type, 1 vol. 8vo. 

This edition is put up and may be had either with or without the Apocrypha, Con- 
cordance, Psalms, or Plates. 

Their fine edition is of superior workmanship, and the paper on which it is printed 
has all of the firmness, consistency, and colour of the best European. They are in all 
styles of binding. 



AN EXPOSITION 

OF THE 

©E.B ANIZ NEW TESTAMENT. 

Wherein each chapter is summed up in its contents ; the sacred text inserted at 
large, in distinct paragraphs; each passage reduced to its proper heads; the sense 
given, and largely illustrated. 

WITH PRACTICAL REMARKS A3JH OBSERVATIONS, 

By MATTHEW HENRY. 

Edited by the Rev. Geo. Burder, and the Rev. Joseph Hughes, A.M. ; with the Life 
of the author by the Rev. Samuel Palmer. 

TO WHICH IS PREFIXED A PREFACE, 

By ARCHIBALD ALEXANDER, D.D., 

Professor of Theology in the Seminary at Princeton, New Jersey. 

First American edition, 6 vols, super 8vo. 

This work has elicited so decidedly the approbation of the most judicious men of 
the principal denomination of Christians in the United States, that the publishers 
deem it unnecessary to offer now many of the numerous recommendations they have 
received from various quarters. 

The following will serve to show the universal opinion with regard to this work : 



From the Rev. S. H. Cone, Pastor of the Oliver Street Baptist Church, New York. 

" I have examined the stereotype edition of Matthew Henry's Exposition of the 
Old and New Testament, and take pleasure in bearing testimony to its typographical 




33 




THEOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS. 



-=a 



neatness and accuracy, and the comparative cheapness of price at which it is now 
offered to the American public. 

" With reference to the intrinsic excellence of the work itself, it needs not my feeble 
commendation. The wise and good unite in saying, that it is calculated to render 
those who read it wiser and better ; and having frequently derived from it edification 
and comfort myself, I do sincerely hope you may succeed in circulating it extensively 
among my fellow-citizens." 



The following vivid delineation of its characteristic qualities is from the pen of the 
Rev. Dr. Alexander, of Princeton : 

" A characteristic of this Exposition of a more important kind than any that have 
been mentioned, is, the fertility and variety of good sentiment manifest throughout the 
work. The mind of the author seems not only to have been imbued with excellent 
spiritual ideas, but to have teemed with them. It is comparable to a perennial foun- 
tain, which continually sends forth streams of living water. In deriving rich instruc- 
tion and consolation from the sacred oracles, adapted to all the various conditions and 
characters of men, the author displays a fecundity of thought, and an ingenuity in 
making the application' of divine truth, which strikes us with admiration. The 
resources of most men would have been exhausted in expounding a few books 
of the Bible; after which little more could have been expected than common-place 
matter, or a continual recurrence of the same ideas ; but the riches of our Expositor's 
mind seem to have been inexhaustible. He comes to every successive portion of the 
sacred Scriptures with a fulness and freshness of matter, and with a variety in his 
remarks, which, while it instructs, at the same time refreshes us. Even in his Expo- 
sition of those books which are very similar in their contents, as the gospels for ex- 
ample, we still fine a pleasing variety in the notes of the commentator. It is difficult 
to conceive hpw one man should have been able to accomplish such a work, without 
any falling off in the style of execution." 

The Rev. Edward Bickersteth says, —"There is in Matthew Henry a glow of 
love, a full exhibition of the sense, a happy reference to the passage expounded, and 
a lively cheerfulness, which will ever make his work popular, useful, and indis- 
pensable." 

Dr. Doddridge says, — " Henry is, perhaps, the only commentator so large that 
deserves to be entirely and attentively read through. The remarkable passages, I 
think, should be remarked. There is much to be learned from this work in a specu- 
lative, and still more in a practical way." 

Dr. Edward Williams says, — "It is an incomparable work, and too well known 
need a discriminating character." 

" The Rev. Dr. Thomas Hartwell Home, in his valuable Introduction to the Study 
of the Scriptures, says, that its high and generally known value is so just and exten- 
sive, that it needs no recommendation. 

I 

The Rev. Adam Clarke, the Commentator, says, — " The Rev. Matthew Henry, 
a very eminent dissenting minister, is author of a very extensive Commentary on the 
Old and New Testaments, and one of the most popular works of the kind ever pub- 
lished. It is always orthodox, generally judicious, and truly pious and practical." 



Extract of a letter from the Rev. Francis Wayland, President of Brown University. 

" 1 am gratified to hear of your intention to present the religious public with an 
American edition of Henry's Commentary. I know of no work of the kind in any 
language which combines more sound good sense with fervent and deep-toned 
piety." 



34 



EENEY'S MAZIMS. 



TO EE READ IN FAMILIES. 

By WM. JAY. 



Law's Call. 
A SERIOUS CALL 



TO A 



BEYOTH" AMD M©IL¥ LIFE. 

ADAPTED TO THE STATE AND CONDITION OF ALL ORDERS OF CHRISTIANS. 

Br WM. LAW, A.M. 

Nineteenth edition, with some account of the Author. 



Confession of Faith. 

THE CONSTITUTION 

OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 

Etc, Etc., Etc. 

As ratified by the General Assembly, at their Session in May, 1821, 
and amended in 1833. 



DOTEH SELECTION CE HYMNS. 



35 



— — — — — a— 




THE PSALMS OF DATID. 



IN METRE. 



Translated and diligently compared with the Original Text, and former transla- 
tions ; more plain, smooth, and agreeable to the text, than any heretofore. 
Allowed by the General Assembly of the Kirk of Scotland. 32mo. 



3BSX8IL33 QW&MRWEWD&, 
The Natural History of Animals mentioned in Scripture..] 




©2HH IF®IBSS Ig©®ES 

OK, 

PRACTICAL FORMS FOR EVERY MAN OF BUSINESS. 

Containing Three Hundred of the most approved Precedents. 
By a Member of the Philadelphia Bar. 






GTLEEK TESTAMENT. 



By WILSON. 



LES A VENTURES DE TELEMAftUE. 

FILS D'UL T S SE. 
Par M. FENELON. 

NOnVEt,LE EDITION, PAR 

M. CHAS. LE BRUN. 



f^f j^ " ' ■ * *~**~*~±>~v*** M ~.', 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




013 662 916 5 



